


Code to El Dorado

by bjdunkelfuck



Category: Road to El Dorado (2000), Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: F/M, M/M, Panic Attacks, el dorado au, kinda??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-05
Updated: 2014-11-25
Packaged: 2018-01-11 05:44:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 37,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1169387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bjdunkelfuck/pseuds/bjdunkelfuck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Long time roommates and best friends Gavin and Michael agree (excitably and reluctantly) to beta test an indie video game. El Dorado claims to be the world’s first fully immersive video game, though they don’t find out just how immersive it is until they’re already in the game. When this game claims to be ultra-realistic, it means it, down to the point where pain, health, hunger, and even death are real concerns. The worst of it? They can’t leave until they beat the game. And if they don’t beat the game… it literally is game over.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Over-Glorified Game

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came from the lovely Em (fullunadulteratedart @ tumblr) and I decided I would try to write it!!! Also Pearl (shinjutori @ tumblr) beta'd this and made sound way cooler, so thanks to her. Anyway, hope you enjoy!!! Also in case anyone wanted to know Gavin works at a computer gaming company and Michael is still an electrician.

It was an average day of work for Gavin Free, working on some animation for a cut-scene in one of the games that the company had been sent to edit, when a voice broke him out of his work trance:

“Hey Gav, you hear about that new ‘totally immersive’ game the guys need beta-tested?”

Gavin turned away from his computer to look up at his friend/coworker Dan Gruchy, and shook his head, and asked doubtfully, “Totally immersive?”

Dan shrugged, “Some random company called us up and asked us to beta-test it. Spencer is taking volunteers to do it, it’s called… El Dorado? Something like that, anyway, it’s supposed to be the first fully immersive game, like you’re ‘actually in the game’. It supposed to revolutionary or something.  It sounded like something you’d be up for since you’re always trying out the new games.”

Gavin nodded excitedly, the thrill of possibly playing something new and never before seen sparking his sense of adventure, “Yeah that sounds really top! I would definitely volunteer.”

Dan grinned, and pointed at Gavin, “Oh, almost forgot, it’s a strictly two-player game, so you probably should ask Michael first. I mean unless you have someone else you know who will play with you, because I’m not.” Gavin pouted, slumping in his chair, “Aww, B. How mean, why won’t you play with me?”

Dan rolled his eyes, waving a hand dismissively “That sounds like some horror movie shit, mate. I’m not touching that. I’m sure your boyfriend will play with you though.”

Gavin scoffed, folding his arms irritated, “Michael is not my boyfriend, Dan!” Dan smiled, and teased, “Getting pretty defensive, are we?” Gavin groaned, waving the older man away, “Go get some work done, you prick.”

“Alright, alright. See you later then, Gav,” he waved as he walked away from Gavin’s desk.

Gavin half heartedly waved back before he returned to his work and, in the back of his mind, tried various ideas to convince his roommate Michael Jones to play El Dorado with him…

==================================================

Gavin shut the door to the apartment behind him and threw his bag to the side, calling out to his roommate to see if he was home, “Michael? You home, mate?”

Michael popped out from his bedroom, still wearing his own dark blue work clothes, and an annoyed look on his face, “Yeah, what’s up?”

Gavin grinned broadly and cheerfully sing-songed, “I have a new game that we absolutely have to try out!”

Michael groaned, already starting to turn away towards his bedroom, “I don’t want to play one more of your stupid shitty indie games Gavin.”

Gavin pouted and bounced over to him, grabbing his arm as he whined, “Aw, but Michael, you haven’t even heard the best part. It’s the very first fully immersive game!”

Michael sighed, shifting his glasses so he could pinch the bridge of his nose, “What are you even talking about? That sounds like some bullshit to me.”

“No, it’d be really cool. Think about it, Michael, El Dorado! We’ll be pioneers like in the Matrix!” he leaned in closer and whispered excitedly, “This could be our  _destiny._ ”

Michael’s eyebrows furrowed, as he spat, “Gavin, ‘destiny’ doesn’t translate to beta-testing an over-glorified game made in some shady guy’s basement.”

Gavin twisted his face into an exaggerated frown and Michael shook his head as he groaned, “Don’t make the face…” Gavin raised an eyebrow and smirked at him which only served to annoy Michael further as he flatly said, “Gavin. Stop. No.”

Gavin continued making hopeful/pleading faces and Michael just became less annoyed and much angrier with every expression, “No, no, no, no, no, and no. No. NO GAVIN.”

Gavin stuck his tongue out and panted like a dog, enjoying how easy it was getting Michael getting angry and he hoped that he would give in. Michael growled in frustration and snapped, “ _Gavin._ For fuck’s sake, will you just _stop!?_ ”

Gavin beamed at him, wiggling around like an overeager puppy, “Are you gonna play El Dorado with me?”

Michael sighed, running a hand down his face, “Fine, I’ll play your dumb ass game. Better be worth it though…”

============================================

The next day, Gavin retrieved the game from his boss and went home once his shift was over, sitting around in his red work clothes waiting for Michael to finish his work. When Michael arrived, Gavin quickly pulled him to the couch and opened his laptop, bouncing in excitement.

Michael rolled his eyes at his excitement, “Calm down, dude. It’s just a game.” Gavin shook his head, a weird look on his face, “Its destiny, Michael.” Michael glared at him and growled, “Just shut the fuck up and start up the fucking game.”

Gavin grinned and, as Michael watched skeptically, pulled out a computer bag, taking out a flashdrive and two weird electrical masks that were connected to each other with a series of wires and another wire that connected them both to the computer. He plugged in the flashdrive and a small window opened that read in green letters  _Welcome to El Dorado. Please install the file below._  Then in red letters below there was a file named _El_Dorado_Installation_ and Gavin clicked on it, another window opened and began to install the game.

Michael gave Gavin a dubious look, “This doesn’t look very realistic to me, Gav.” Gavin waved him off, lightly saying, “It’s just installing you doughnut, give it time. I’m sure these things,” he held up both of the masks, “will help make things realistic.” He handed one to Michael, who eyed the mask critically, his mouth pursed in irritation. “This thing won’t electrocute me or something, will it?”

Gavin laughed and shook his head, “I don’t think so,” he put it up to his own face for a moment then began screaming. Michael’s eyes widened, “Gavin! Oh my God, what-” he heard Gavin snicker from behind the mask and he punched him in the arm, “What the fuck is wrong with you?! I almost had a fucking heart attack!” 

Gavin moved the mask away from his face and shrugged, laughing, “I couldn’t resist, sorry Michael!”

Michael mumbled, glaring at the screen of Gavin’s laptop, “Ungrateful shithead still wants me to play his dumb ass games even though he continues to be a fucking asshole.”

Gavin ignored him and glanced back at the computer. After a minute or so another window popped up and it read in crimson script:

“ _Before you put on the masks, you will be given some information of your current situation:_

_You are fugitives who con your way into any money you receive._

_Lately you have been making bets with loaded dice and you begin the game making some of these bets with some sailors you met at the docks._

_What you do after is up to you._

_At various points there will be characters that will either help you or harm you, depending on how you treat them._

_DO NOT GET EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED TO THEM FOR THEY ARE ONLY COMPUTER AIS AND ARE NOT REAL._

_Now, place the masks on your face and click the flaps over your ears to attach them and then, state your name and what player you are._

_Begin when you are ready and please enjoy your journey to El Dorado.”_

Gavin looked over at Michael to see if he had read it and by the mildly confused look on his face, he had. Gavin smiled broadly, “You ready, my boi?”

Michael looked at the mask and then at Gavin, nodding doubtfully, “Yeah, I guess.”

They both placed the masks on as instructed and Gavin eagerly spoke into the microphone first, “Gavin Free, Player 1.” Then Michael cautiously said after him, “Michael Jones, Player 2.” They were both braced for something huge to happen.

 Nothing happened.

Just as Michael began to lift his hands to take off the mask and say what a waste of time this was, their faces began to tingle and their apartment around them faded away and new surrounds sprouted right in front of their faces. The masks disappeared from their faces and they found themselves standing in an alleyway, a pair of red dice in Michael’s right hand and some scary looking men in the shadows in front of them, arguing amongst themselves, not paying any attention to the two.

Michael blinked and touched his face, looking for the mask that was no longer there, “…What the fuck?” He was now dressed in a blue t-shirt with a grey vest over top, cargo pants, and boots that he never owned. A glance at Gavin confirmed that his clothes had changed as well into a quarter-sleeved red shirt, a pair of torn jeans, and sneakers.

Michael shifted uncomfortably, the dice in his hand clacking together, drawing his attention to their surroundings. He could feel the uneven weight of the dice in his palm, the coolness of the shade they were facing, the warmth of sun-soaked brick behind them, and the gritty sensation of the ground underneath them. He wrinkled his nose slightly at the scent of garbage, piss, unwashed bodies, and, very faintly, the ocean.

They weren’t just playing a game with stupid masks anymore.

Gavin was mirroring Michael’s movements, looking both confused and excited as he turned to Michael and voiced the only conclusion that Michael could think of:

“Michael? I think that we’re in the game now…”


	2. GAVIN YOU FUCKING MORON!

**LAST TIME DURING CODE TO EL DORADO**

_They weren’t just playing a game with stupid masks anymore._

_Gavin was mirroring Michael’s movements, looking both confused and excited as he turned to Michael and voiced the only conclusion that Michael could think of:_

_“Michael? I think that we’re in the game now…”_

=================================== _  
_

Michael ran a hand over his face and growled at him, “No shit, asshole. What did you get us into?”

Gavin gave Michael a helpless look and shrugged, “S-Sorry.”

Michael was going to kill him for this. He moved the dice around in his hand and looked at the men who were watching them expectantly, he turned to Gavin and mouthed, “Follow my lead.” Michael took a step forward and nodded at the men, “How much you got?”

A bald, heavier man threw a large bag filled to the brim with gold coins between them, “Enough for you, pretty boy?”

Michael blinked at the gold and glanced back at Gavin, “Looks like enough, I guess, don’t you think, Gav?”

Gavin quickly nodded and Michael turned back to face the men, “Let’s go, then,” he tossed the dice in his hand to see what numbers it was rigged to land on. The dice landed on a four and a three, adding up to seven, so Michael murmured, “Seven,” and tossed the dice to the ground.

As expected, the dice landing on seven and Gavin grabbed the bag of gold happily, giggling, “We did it, Michael!”

Michael rolled his eyes and smiled, “I know, you dumb,” he picked up the dice and set them in his pocket. He gave the men a quick wave, “Thanks for the gold, see you later.”

Just before they left the alley, a woman from the back of the group calls out to them, “Wait! We have something else you might want.”

Michael growled in annoyance and spun back around to look at the tall, dark-skinned woman, who smiled slyly at them and waved a rolled-up paper.

Michael walked back over to them, eying the paper skeptically, “What is that? A fucking map?”

The woman nodded, “The map to El Dorado.”

Michael and Gavin glanced at each other and then back at the woman, Gavin hesitantly asked, “…We’re not already in El Dorado?”

The woman gave them a quizzical look and a disbelieving snort, “Are you boys a little loco? This is Huelva. You’re in Spain, hun.”

Michael groaned and threw his hands in the air, “Are you fucking kidding me? We gotta find El Dorado, too?!”

Gavin cringed a little bit, pulling Michael to the side hissing, “Michael, calm down! You can’t break the bloody fourth wall right in front of the NPCs!”

Michael mumbled under his breath, tugging his arm out of Gavin’s grip, “Fine, but I’m still gonna kick your ass later,” then turned back to the woman, “We’ll go for the map,” he started to pull the dice out of his pocket and say ‘seven’, when the bald man stopped him, sneering, “Not with those dice! We’ll use _my_ dice this time,” and held out his massive hand where a pair of chipped, dirty, white dice sat in his palm.

When Michael didn’t move to take them, the man inquired, his voice mockingly sweet, “Got a problem with that?” Gavin started to protest when Michael stomped on his foot saying “None at all. Give them here.”

He rolled the red dice in his hand once and hesitantly put them away, taking the man’s plain white dice, shaking them rapidly in his hand. _What if we lose? Do we lose our gold? How in the hell are we ever going to get to El Dorado?_ Michael shook his head to clear those thoughts away and sighed, glancing at Gavin, who was nervously fidgeting next to him, tossing the bag of gold between both of his hands.

Michael grinned as a dumb thought came to him, remembering something he had seen in a movie once. Michael held out his hand that held the dice to Gavin, “Blow on ‘em.”

Gavin blinked at him, “W-What?”

Michael shoved his hand closer, “You heard me, dickhead. It’s supposed to be for luck or some shit like that. If you’re gonna force me to play this piece of shit game with you, then you’re going to entertain me. Now blow on ‘em.”

Gavin smiled and shrugged, “Fine, fine,” and blew into Michael’s palm. Michael pulled away, shook the dice once more mumbling “Seven,” and threw them down at the man’s feet. The dice swiveled around on the ground for a moment and finally landed on a six and a one. _Seven._  Gavin jumped in the air excitedly, “Yeah! We bloody did it, Michael! We beat them even without that loaded shit!”

Michael was grinning along with him and grabbed the map from the woman, just before Gavin said “loaded” and he cringed, whipping around to face Gavin, screaming, “Goddamnit, Gavin!”

Before Gavin could respond, the man gave them a murderous look, “What did you just say?”

Gavin laughed nervously and slowly started to back away, “Uh, nothing. Thanks for the map, w-we’re gonna… leave now.”

The man’s fist clenched and went to swing at Michael, but Michael quickly dodged it, thanking his childhood spent in New Jersey for his reflexes, and ran out of the alley, grabbing Gavin by the wrist as he passed the Brit and dragging him down the streets, losing the group of angry people in the twisting looping alleyways, before slowing down near a dock.

Michael collapsed into a sitting position against a wall, a stack of crates blocking them from view of the docks, trying to catch his breath, “W-What the f-f-fuck, man? W-why am I-I so f-fuckin’ tired? Dude, wh-what the h-hell is up with th-this game? I’m-I’m sweating like a fucking pig!”

Gavin plopped down, his legs spread wide, in front of Michael, also panting heavily, “I-I don’t know. Th-This game is g-getting a little _t-too realistic_.”

Michael set his head against the wall behind him, heaving a sigh, “How are we even going to leave this game? We can’t just pull off the goddamned masks and be magically sent back home. Something loopy is going on with this shitty indie game.”

Gavin nodded, resting his hands on his knees, “Yeah, this game does seem a little odd. I don’t know Michael maybe we can’t leave the game until we beat it?”

Michael dug the palms of his hands into his eyes, as he almost shouted “Thanks for the fucking morale boost there, Gav! Are you saying we have to beat this shitty ass game to get the hell back to the real world? We know almost nothing about this entire fucking scenario and now we have to fucking beat it?!”

Gavin shrugged, flinching away from him mumbling, “It was just a bloody thought.”

Michael looked like he was about to scream at Gavin again but refrained, closing his eyes and inhaling before sighing, “You’re probably right. I mean, how else could we possibly get out of this shithole?”

Gavin put his chin on his folded hands, frowning thoughtfully, “I don’t bloody know. What’s our plan then?”

Michael pulled out and opened the map that they’d won/stolen, “For now? Find fucking El Dorado I guess.” He placed the map between them and they both leaned in to look it over, as Michael griped, “What the actual fuck does any of this mean anyway? It’s just a bunch of shitty ass pictures with squiggly lines connecting them together!”

Gavin picked it up and carefully looked at it. “I think we have to get to the actual island first Michael.” he remarked turned the map around to face Michael and pointed out the small cursive script at the bottom of the map that read _The Island Vahlia._ Michael took the map back and raised an eyebrow, squinting at the words, “Vahlia? Where the ever living fuck is that?”

As soon as Michael said “Vahlia”, there was a sharp spike of something that was sent through each of their bodies, like someone had shocked them with electricity, and someone appeared behind the crates, talking excitedly to another person, “Hey, did you hear that the captain has found the route to Vahlia? I’m so excited, it sounds like such a nice place!” They couldn’t make out the other person’s reply as they walked off towards a large ship at the end of the dock.

Michael looked at Gavin, “Did you feel that?”

Gavin nodded silently. Michael shook his head, “This game is fuckin’ insane,” he sighed, “Alright, so you wanted to know what the plan was right? Here it is: We’re going to sneak onto that boat and hitch a ride to Vahlia.”

Gavin nodded eagerly until something occurred to him, “Okay, but how are we,” He gestured to Michael and himself, “gonna sneak on board?”

Michael looked around the stack of crates and grinned spying the barrels that the two men were beginning to load onto the boat. He pointed them out to Gavin, “We hide in two of those the barrels.”

Gavin looked in the direction Michael pointed and grinned nodding, “Top. They certainly look big enough.”

When both crewmembers of the boat were turned away from the barrels and carrying them onto the boat, Michael and Gavin each hopped into their own barrel and closed the lid over the top of them. There was a quarter-sized hole on either side of the barrel, so breathing wasn’t an issue, but Michael quickly started feeling cramped. After a few minutes, the men from the boat picked up the barrels Michael and Gavin were inside.

The younger one carrying Michael complained, “Shit, these ones are heavy.”

The older man barked, carrying Gavin, “Quit whining, cabrón.”

They were placed down on the boat and they knew they would have to wait until everybody boarded and had gotten off the deck before they could find a less constricting place to hide. Michael decided to take a nap and Gavin listened carefully to the people on the ship talk and work, slowly picking up random facts about the crew.

After the ship had left the dock and everyone had gone to their rooms to sleep, Gavin eventually fell asleep with nothing interesting to listen to. He didn’t expect to wake up by being pulled out of the barrel and having a blade pressed to the side of his throat. It was then, when he could feel how cold the blade was and how much it hurt where the edge of it dug into his skin, that he actually realized how immersive this game **really** was.

He looked over at Michael, who had someone else pinning him to the ground, but Michael was putting up much more of a fight, writhing around and spitting curses at the man holding him down. Gavin watched him get clocked in the face by another man’s fist, and as blood poured from his nose, Michael went limp in the first man’s arms.

He looked back up at the person, a woman with a feathered tricorn hat dressed in red, holding the blade against his throat and she growled in anger, “This trip is too important for stupid stowaways like you mariposos. You and your asshole friend are lucky we don’t just kill you now, but I’m not putting your filthy corpses in my lovely ocean. We’ll dispose of you properly in Vahlia. One wrong move and I’ll kill you whether it stinks up this ship or not, same goes for him too,” she jerked her head in Michael’s direction, “¿Comprehende?”

Gavin nodded silently, his eyes wide in fear as she pulled the blade away from him, telling the workers to throw them in the cell. Michael and Gavin’s hands were handcuffed together with rough, metal shackles and they dropped them into the square cell with metal gating over the top of it and four wooden walls.

Gavin was internally freaking out, but he knew if he made a sound, the captain would come out here and slit his throat, so he silently shook with sobs, tears streaming down his face. Michael had stopped bleeding but blood was still caked on his face and he was still unconscious.

Gavin didn’t know if he would ever wake up or if Gavin was going to have to leave this game alone. What would happen to Michael then? Where would he go? Gavin just hoped that Michael was just hurt and that he would be alright in the morning.

Gavin slid to the ground and pulled Michael close next to him, falling asleep pressed up against him, his face tucked into the junction between Michael’s neck and his shoulder...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey what's up everybody, Shinju here to let you know that any Spanish here is from what I remember learning in High School/through Google Translate so apologies if it is wrong!
> 
> Oh also this is Cheryn (bjdunkelfuck), Ray should be in the next chapter!!! Hope you've enjoyed the story uvu


	3. X-Ray is Here to Save the Day

_**LAST TIME DURING CODE TO EL DORADO** _

_Gavin didn’t know if he would ever wake up or if Gavin was going to have to leave this game alone. What would happen to Michael then? Where would he go? Gavin just hoped that Michael was just hurt and that he would be alright in the morning._

_Gavin slid to the ground and pulled Michael close next to him, falling asleep pressed up against him, his face tucked into the junction between Michael’s neck and his shoulder._

When Michael woke up, his head was pounding like the music at a shitty club in New Jersey, and he felt that something sticky ( _Was it spit? Or maybe blood?_ ) had dried onto his lower face as he moved his head around to make it less uncomfortable. He looked around and realized that he was now in a wooden room with an iron grate for a ceiling and that his hands were bound together with rough metal cuffs.

Memories of a man dragging him out of his barrel and fight him, trying to protect stupid idiotic frail Gavin, ended with him getting punched in the face and passing out. Explained why both his nose and cheek were pretty sore really good too. Michael groaned and tried to sit up but something tugged at him, preventing him from doing so.

He glared at the offending object but softened seeing what, or rather who, it was.

Gavin was sleeping next to him and had a fistful of his shirt at the shoulder, scooting closer to him when Michael tried pulling back. Michael sighed and shook Gavin gently, “Dude, wake the fuck up…”

Gavin just mumbled to himself, looking troubled and continued to sleep. Michael groaned and leaned in close to Gavin’s ear and yelled, “Yo, asshole! Wake your shitty British ass up!”

Gavin shot up into a sitting position, his head almost hitting Michael’s, his hands still holding onto Michael’s shirt, as he shouted, his accent thick with sleep, “Wot? Wot’s happenin’ Micool?”

Michael growled and attempted to pull Gavin’s hand away from him, “What the fuck did you get us into now you stupid pr-?”

His angry words were cut off as Gavin grabbed Michael by his shoulders and pulled him close in a tight embrace, gripping into the fabric on the back of his shirt. Michael was shocked into returning the embrace to the shivering Brit as he stuttered out, “M-Michael… y-you’re…you’re o-okay…”

Michael’s face dropped and he slowly rubbed Gavin’s back comfortingly, “Gav, what happened? I know we were found, then some asshole punched me in the face,” Gavin winced looking at Michael’s face, as he continued “then…Nothing.”

Gavin put his forehead on Michael’s shoulder, as he whispered back, “The captain, she said she wasn’t going to kill us now or something, but she’d ‘dispose’ of us in Vahlia. And I was so scared Michael! I didn’t know if you were going to wake up or not! I thought that I would have to try and go on and finish the game by myself,” he trembled, a few tears landing on Michael’s shoulder, “W-What would I have done if you hadn’t woken up? I would be dead within minutes if I didn’t have you to help me!”

Michael continued to gently drag his hands up and down Gavin’s back, “Well, I’m awake now asshole, okay? We’ll find a way to escape and just follow the ship or something, yeah? We’ll figure it out don’t you worry, my boi.”

Gavin nodded after a minute or two and let go of Michael hesitantly, as if as soon as he let him go, Michael would disappear into thin air. Michael put his head in his hands and groaned, “Shit, this is the worst fucking game ever created,” he lowered his hands and looked back up at Gavin, “So we need to take some food and whatever medical supplies provided in the fucking 1500s, because this game apparently makes us need all that bullshit.”

At that moment Gavin’s and Michael’s stomachs growled. Neither of them had eaten before playing the game and, judging from the sun, it was at least a day since they started playing. Gavin quickly said to get their minds off of how hungry they were, “That sounds top, but how are we even going to leave this cell?”

Michael threw his hands in the air, half-shouting as he stood up and started pacing, “I don’t know! What way could we possibly get out of this? There must be some path or something you can take to get out…”

Gavin stopped listening to Michael when he saw a dark-haired and eyed Hispanic boy peering into their cage. The boy was about their age and had shackles like Gavin and Michael’s on his wrists as well. His simple grey shirt and pants and his skin had bits of dirt and grime smudged all over them. He had a plain pair of black framed glasses on, though judging from how he was squinting he still couldn’t see too well with them on.

Gavin waved carefully at him and the boy flinched back even though there was no way Gavin was in reaching distance to harm him. When he flinched, there was an almost ripple of grey light around him, like what happens to you in Assassin’s Creed II when you blend into a crowd that’s walking down a street or sit on a bench. Gavin cut off Michael’s planning/ranting and said, “Michael, hey, could you shut up for a second.”

Michael glared at him, and snapped, “What Gavin?!?”

Gavin stood up, pointing at the boy, who he could see was cleaning the deck now, but still occasionally glanced at them curiously, “Maybe he can help us out. He did the light thing from AC II so I assume he’s important somehow.” He mumbled to himself with a frown “But if I yell up at him, it’d probably scare him off…”

Gavin snapped his fingers as an idea came to him and grinned at Michael “Give me a boost so I can talk to him!”

Michael gave him an incredulous look, “Look a good fucking at him again, Gav. He’s probably just a slave or something; he doesn’t have anything that could possibly used to help us!”

Gavin shook his head, and insisted “Just let me talk to him. It’s better than bloody doing nothing, yeah?”

Michael groaned and muttered about how Gavin was an idiot but he still crouched down a little and wrapped his arms around Gavin’s thighs before hoisting him up with a grunt, so he was about six inches from the grate. Gavin wobbled for a moment, almost losing his balance before grabbing the grate and held onto it for balance. He smiled at the boy who was now watching him warily.

Now that he could see the guy from a better angle he saw that he had shackles on his ankles too above bare reddened feet, and that he was very, very pale and extremely skinny under the dirt. Gavin quietly asked, not wanting to attract attention, “Hey, mate, think you can help us out?”

The boy cocked his head at him, and spoke hesitantly, with a surprisingly New York accent, “H-Help…you and your…friend…?”

Gavin nodded eagerly, “Yeah if you could just find a crowbar or the keys to this cell and let us out, we’d really appreciate it.”

The boy stared for a bit longer before he smiled almost deviously at Gavin, “Will you help me blow this joint too?”

Gavin blinked at the slang, and slowly said, “So… you know where the keys are?”

The boy insisted coming closer to the grate “Will you do it?”

Gavin bit his lip and said, “We can help you escape the boat at least; we’re going to El Dorado.”

The boy grinned broadly at that and questioned, “You’re headed to El Dorado too? The City of Gold?”

Gavin had never heard it being called that, but he nodded anyway assuming that was what ‘El Dorado’ translated to in English, “Yeah that’s right, so you in?”

The boy nodded enthusiastically, grabbing onto the grate himself to whisper, “After everyone goes to their rooms for the night, I can grab the keys and we’ll book it.”

Gavin put his hand through the grate to shake on it, but the boy just stared at his hand, obviously confused. Michael finally spoke, growling from beneath Gavin, “Just hurry the fuck up and agree with him! You’re heavy as shit and your ass is in my face!”

Gavin laughed quietly and called down, “Alright, alright Michael!” Gavin put his hand down onto the grate and asked back at the boy, “Never-mind what I was just doing, it’s a custom where I’m from. So, what’s your name? I’m Gavin and this,” he gestures below him to the irritated curly-haired boy, “is my boi, Michael.”

The boy timidly shifted, biting his lip, “Um, my name’s… Ray. Ray Narvaez.” He added as an afterthought, “Junior.”

Gavin smiled and started to say, “Nice to meet you, R-!” when his grip on the grate loosened and the change in balance knocked Michael off his feet, causing the two room-mates to tumble to the floor, both hitting their heads on the way down.

Through the ringing in their ears from bonking their heads, they could hear Ray laughing and he only stopped when one of the crewmembers walked over and chastised him for not doing what he was told to do.

As he meekly apologized and walked away from the grate, Michael groaned from under Gavin and pushed him off roughly as Gavin shouted goodbye to Ray. Michael sighed, and stated “So, we’re just gonna trust this random ass Latino slave to get us the fuck out?”

Gavin shrugged, “What other choice do we have?” Michael sighed tiredly, “Yeah, I guess so…When are we going to eat? For that matter **what** are we going to eat, man? I’m really fucking hungry and we both haven’t eaten in almost a day.”

Gavin flopped onto his back, and groaned, “Don’t remind me! Eating will just have to wait, I guess.”

Michael lay down next to him snorting, “Yeah, because you’re totally that fucking patient.”

Gavin scoffed, turning his head towards Michael, “Don’t underestimate me boi.”

They decided to fuck around with the loaded dice and the map, coming up with random games to play and they kept running and jumping around in the brig until someone on the deck yelled at them to shut up, later in the afternoon.

Not long after that, Ray came back with some bread, a few pieces of dried meat, and a small container of water which Gavin thanked him for more times than he’d probably like to admit. Michael had only thanked Ray once, still unsure of how trustworthy the boy was though he remembered the warning that the game had given them about how you treat the AIs reflects how they treat you.

They ate the food and drank the water quickly, returning the mug he had passed down to them before Ray went back to his “chores”. Gavin and Michael took a short nap until all the crewmembers went to sleep that evening and Ray woke them up, opening the brig with the captain’s keys, which he had stolen and used to unlock his own shackles, and helped haul them out of the tiny room. He quickly unlocked their shackles and told them that he was going to grab something really quick, and ran off, leaving them on their own.

Michael and Gavin warily searched the ship, careful not to wake any sleeping sailors, and found a small lifeboat that all three of them could use to leave the ship. They quickly put two crates of food, a barrel of water and a weird bin that was labeled _Medical Supplies_ into the boat as well. Ray quickly ran over, a cloth bag over one shoulder and what looked like a large piece of paper clutched in one hand, and all three of them piled in. Under Ray’s quiet direction, the boat slowly descended onto the salty water below and they carefully pushed off and away from the ship, attempting to keep a good distance from the range of its cannons while still following it.

“Well, that was top!” Gavin cheered, smiling apologetically as both Michael and Ray shushed him. Ray put the paper on the seat between him and the room-mates, carefully unfolding it as he explained to them, “The captain always has two or three extra maps in case something happens, so it won’t be a huge deal if I…borrow one. This should take us to Vahlia…Can we get to El Dorado from there?”

Gavin nodded, grinning at the Hispanic, “Yeah we can! Thank you so much once again for helping us out, Ray.”

Ray shrugged, a lazy smirk on his face, “I don’t mind helping out a pair of assholes that get locked up by that crazy bitch.”

Gavin cocked his head, eyebrows furrowing in confusion, “What was your deal with her anyway? Why were you on that boat chained up like that?”

Ray sighed, running a hand through his shaggy hair, “You know what an indentured servant is, don’t you?”

Gavin shook his head and glanced at Michael. Michael sighed, and explained quietly to Gavin, “It’s basically a slave, but only for a certain amount of time and there’s a contract and a lot of legal stuff that goes into it.”

Gavin nodded and looked back at Ray, “Yeah we know what that is.” Michael snorted rolling his eyes at Ray.

The Hispanic smiled a little, and rubbed the back of his neck, “Well, I’m one of them. My parents owed a lot of money to the captain and her family and wouldn’t you know it, I’m a lazy piece of shit compared to my other crowd-pleasing sibs, so they willingly gave me up to the bitch. My contract is set for another fifteen years or until they pay off their debt, but quite frankly I really don’t feel like doing any of that bullshit if I don’t have to, so my parents can suck my dick…Not literally but yeah…”

Gavin gave a small laugh at that, “Well, you’re free now, right? That’s some pretty shitty stuff in your past, but now you can come on an adventure with us to El Dorado!” Michael nodded, a small smile on his face as he admitted, “Yeah, you really helped us out and that **was** pretty cool of you.”

Ray grinned at them cockily, “That’s me, Ray, the cool guy.”

Michael rolled his eyes with a snort and Gavin laughed again, asking, “Hey, can I see the map?”Ray nodded and pushed it to him.

Gavin’s face scrunched up in confusion at the coordinates and random numbers and letters he didn’t understand the meaning of. Ray leant forward to look at what Gavin seemed confused by and pointed an area in the top left corner, “We’re right here,” he drug his finger down their path to the area in the middle right where a piece of land peeked at the edge of the map, “And that’s Vahlia,” he pointed at some point in between, “There’s a path we can take that a ship as big as Ava’s can’t get though we’ll get to Vahlia before they’re even close, sound good?”

Michael and Gavin listened to him explain and once he finished, Michael nodded, saying relieved, “If we can avoid them completely it’s perfect…Who’s Ava though?” Ray shrugged, “Oh, she’s the captain, Ava Arrow. She’s really popular in Spain and her family is rich as fuck which is why mine is in debt with hers.” Michael raised an eyebrow, “You say that like you’re not from there originally.” Ray shook his head, “Cause, I’m not. Not technically.”

Ray’s voice dropped down a bit as he said softly “No one’s really supposed to know, but my family came from an island by America that has been called Puerto Rico. Once they got enough money on the plantations there, they then moved to Spain and became the super obnoxious rich dickwads that they are now. We were supposed to hide that we came from some ‘lowly’ island for our family’s honor or something, though honestly I never gave a shit.”

Michael nodded in agreement, “Oh, that’s pretty damn stupid alright.” Gavin yawned, blinking slowly at them, “Can we sleep now?” Michael sighed and rolled his eyes, “We can’t all sleep or we’ll end up in the middle of bum-fuck-nowhere, but you can if you want to, I guess.”

Gavin nodded halfheartedly and curled beside Michael, quickly passing out. Ray and Michael talked for a little while about Ray’s life ( _and Michael roughly amending his to fit the times when Ray asked about his_ ) and navigated the boat as they spoke until Michael grew tired. He yawned and softly said, “Hey, do you mind if I sleep for awhile? Gavin will be up in a little bit probably.”

Ray nodded, “Go ahead.”

Michael maneuvered himself into a laying position next to Gavin without bothering Ray and quickly fell asleep, leaving Ray to sit and watch the water move around them as he hummed something that suspiciously sounded like the Mario theme song, the sky began to lighten a bit on the horizon.

=================================================

When Gavin woke up a few hours later, Ray was starting to fall asleep and the next day had begun, light pouring down on him. Gavin sat up and stretched, hissing at the tension in his back from sleeping in an awkward position. He lightly tapped Ray on the shoulder, which made him tense up and make an aborted move to slap Gavin’s hand away. Gavin blinked and put his hand down, “Hey, Ray, you want to rest for a bit? You look a little… agitated.”

Ray blinked up at him and hazily nodded, saying “Sleep sounds nice,” as he handed the map to Gavin. He told him where they were on the map, and where they need to be going before crawling over Gavin to take his spot, almost immediately falling asleep. Gavin laughed to himself and sat in the small space where Ray had been sitting, taking an apple from the crate next to him and eating it.

He was still amazed by all the sensations this game gave him. The apple in his hands was firm and perfectly tart. The air was filled with the scent of salt water and occasionally food from the food crate. Water here actually quenched his thirst and he really did feel rested from sleeping.

He quickly got bored however, staring around at the endless water around them so he shook Michael awake and Michael responded to Gavin waking up like any normal person would. “What in the ever-living fucking fuck do you want Gavin? I was having a nice time not being conscious ya know!”

Gavin shrugged, and simply replied, “I’m bored.”

Michael growled in annoyance, “You’re bored?” He put on a fake whiny British accent, mocking Gavin, “Oh deary me, I can’t just guide a boat around for awhile without waking up other people, because I’m so very bored.”

Gavin pouted at him, “How rude! I absolutely do not sound like that!” Michael rolled his eyes, grumbling “Whatever, asshole. Why did you wake me up though, man, what wonderful entertainment do you think I have for you?” Gavin overdramatically placed a hand on his heart, “You’re the only entertainment I’ll ever need, Michael.”

Michael laughed and leaned forwards to shove his shoulder, “Shut the fuck up you idiot.” Gavin mock-gasped, flailing slightly, “But Michael!”

Michael leaned back onto the floor of the boat and kicked him in the side, “Just make sure we don’t get lost in the middle of the fucking ocean. It’s not rocket science man.”

Gavin squawked and jumped back, nearly falling out of the boat, “Michael, no!” he quickly leant forward to avoid falling out, “I need your help though! There’s so many numbers my head’s in a muddle!”

Michael sat back up and groaned, “Gavin, come on!”

Gavin pouted, “Please?”

Michael grumbled something inaudible and ripped the map out of Gavin’s hands, his eyes scanned it and then he picked up an oar, “Okay we gotta turn left a little,” he set the map down and handed Gavin the other oar, “Only a little left, okay?”

They easily moved it and threw the oars back down. Michael sighed, “ You know for such an immersive game, this is actually pretty boring.” Gavin nodded, “It’s like a cutscene you can’t skip.”

Michael opened his mouth to respond, when there was a low rumbling noise and the ocean turned pitch black, all of their surroundings changing colors and Ray fading in and out of view. Michael glared at Gavin “You just had to open your stupid mouth didn’t you.”

Gavin jumped back away from the sea, “What- What the bloody hell is going on?”

Michael inched away from Ray, “I-I don’t fucking know. Shit, is the game glitching or something? How do we fix it? Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Gavin shook his head, “I- fuck, what do we do? I just- it’s gotta stop at some point, right? I mean, I don’t know, maybe it won’t loop for eternity?”

Michael growled, “Gavin! Why would you say that? Why would you even put that possibility in this shitty thing’s head?!”

Gavin winced, making a placating gesture towards Michael, his eyes on the sky, “I wouldn’t say bad things about the game right now…”

Michael jabbed his finger in the now bright pink/green “sky”, “Fuck you, game! I will literally find a way to kill you if you do not stop freaking the fuck out right fucking now!”

The ocean slowly faded back to dark blue and the sky flicked through a few other colors before turning light blue again, the sun hanging above their heads again. Ray was still flickering, but Michael seemed satisfied in yelling at the game to get it to work, “See, it just needed a little tough love. Don’t question the rage quit, man.”

Gavin looked around at his surroundings, everything had gone completely back to the way it was, other than Ray. He turned back to Michael, “That was weird.”

Michael nodded, “Yeah, I wonder if Ray is gonna be okay,” he glanced back at the flickering boy and cautiously went to touch him. Just as he was about to touch Ray’s arm, Ray completely faded away and Michael flinched back, “Shit.”

After a few seconds, Ray reappeared, now standing with a weird dopey smile on his face. Gavin leant forward a little, “Ray?”

Ray’s head twitched and he looked down at Gavin, speaking in a far too cheery tone, “My name is Ray Narvaez Jr., who are you?”

Gavin blinked, “Oh, oh no. Ray, buddy, do you know how to get us to Vahlia?”

Ray grinned and sat down, “Vahlia? Oh, yes! Let’s go there! Here hold on,” Ray closed his eyes and started waving his finger in the sky like he was writing in the air. Michael and Gavin exchanged looks and Michael whispered to him, “What the fuck is up with him?”

Gavin whispered back, “I think the glitch messed him up somehow.” Ray’s eyes shot open and he put his hand down, “Okay, ready!” he snapped his fingers and the scene changed, they were at a shore to what they could only assume was the island Vahlia. Ray clapped excitedly, “Oooh, look how pretty it is!” he crawled out of the boat and ran to touch the vines that swirled around a large boulder.

Michael and Gavin looked at each other again and Gavin shrugged, an awkward grin on his face, “At least he’s helping us?”

Michael sighed, “I guess,” he hopped out of the boat and turned to Gavin, “Grab the crates and we’ll separate out we need, then we’ll figure out what the hell that map means…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shinju here! I wanted to put the scene in where the two moan about it being the end but I couldn't fit it in with Cheryn's awesome glitching idea. Maybe in a later chapter while they're traveling to El Dorado or something...   
> Also the indentured servant thing is something that I remembered from history class back in like, Freshman year of high school when we did world history so the facts may be a bit skewed for that.


	4. Achievement Unlocked: Cryptic Medicine

_**LAST TIME DURING CODE TO EL DORADO** _

_Gavin whispered back, “I think the glitch messed him up somehow.” Ray’s eyes shot open and he put his hand down, “Okay, ready!” he snapped his fingers and the scene changed, they were at a shore to what they could only assume was the island Vahlia. Ray clapped excitedly, “Oooh, look how pretty it is!” he crawled out of the boat and ran to touch the vines that swirled around a large boulder._

_Michael and Gavin looked at each other again and Gavin shrugged, an awkward grin on his face, “At least he’s helping us?”_

_Michael sighed, “I guess,” he hopped out of the boat and turned to Gavin, “Grab the crates and we’ll separate out we need, then we’ll figure out what the hell that map means…”_

 Gavin dragged the crates up and out of the boat then grabbed the medical supplies container before called Michael over, who had gone off after Ray to make sure the AI didn’t get lost and/or killed, “Hey, Michael! Bring Ray back over here!”

There was a loud groan in response, and a shout of, “I’m working on it!”

After a moment, Michael came back out of the jungle with the back of Ray’s dirty shirt collar in his hand, grumbling about how filthy the Puerto Rican was, as he dragged Ray to where the crates were and pushed him down into a sitting position next to one, ordering him, “Stay.”

Ray nodded and started playing with his fingers, not moving from his spot. Michael just shook his head and looked at Gavin, “What’s up? Are we separating stuff now?”

Gavin nodded, “Yeah. I thought we could see what we could use in this,” he held out the medical kit, “to your nose and get rid of the blood that still kinda flowing and stuff.”

Michael shrugged, remembering how awful the reflection of his face had looked in the ocean with a mental wince, “Yeah, still hurts like a fucking bitch,” he opened the container and the inside was separated into tiny cubicles, each one filled with a certain type of small vials of colored liquids that had worn handwritten labels on them.

Michael pulled a dark red one out of one section and took a closer look at the words, quickly realizing that he couldn’t read them given the fact they were in some other language Michael didn’t know. He sighed and after a moment handed Ray the vial, “What does this say, Ray?”

Ray grabbed the vial from Michael and turned it to read out loud, “ _Incidere_.”

Michael sighed and ran a hand down his face, wincing as his hand passed over his still broken nose, “No, Ray, I-I mean in English.”

Ray blinked, and apologized “Ohh, sorry. It says ‘ _cut_ ’.”

Michael shook his head, muttering, “Not that one then,” as he took it back from Ray and put it back in the bin. Gavin plucked a vivid green one from the box and handed it to Michael, saying “Here! Try this one!”

Michael shrugged and handed it off to Ray, who quickly grabbed it and mumbled, “ _Fragosus visio faction_ …” to himself before nodding and handing the vial back to Michael, informing him, “That one says something about broken face, so that should be good!” Michael smiled, “Thanks, man.”

Ray smiled back and nodded. Michael popped the small cork off the vial and quickly chugged it down. It burned his throat, as if he had taken a shot of whiskey, making him pull a face and shake his head, “Oh God that tastes gross.” He put the vial back in the container and looked to Gavin who gasped when he saw his face, “Wow! The blood’s all gone now and your nose looks perfectly okay again! Does it hurt you anymore?”

Michael shook his head and gently probed his nose and the area around it, “No… I think we’re good. That’s pretty fucking cool and convenient.”

Gavin nodded in agreement and closed the bin, “Yeah! We definitely have to take these with us!” Michael took it carefully from him and set it off to the side before kneeling next to the crates, “Yeah, let’s look through these crates for stuff we should take with us. Food and shit like that.” He opened the nearest of the crates and found a few knapsacks to carry supplies in and placed them off to the side with the med-kit. Michael looked at Ray, and inquired “How fucking long is the trip to El Dorado gonna be? Do you know, Ray?”

Ray rolled his eyes and smirked, “Of course I know! It’s gonna be…ah, about-” he twitched, his eyes unfocusing as his face went blank, as he flatly finished, “Unknown.”

Michael blinked and looked at Gavin, who looked just as confused as Michael was, raised an eyebrow briefly at the Brit and then looked back at Ray, who was acting cheery in a creepy way again, “Ray?”

Ray grinned, and chirped, “Yes, Michael?”

“Are you…okay?”

“Of course I am Michael!”

Michael hesitantly nodded, not completely believing him, “Right…”

He went back to digging through the box and pulled out some dried meats that were wrapped with parchment, stuffing it in a bag and looked for all of those meats to put in his bag. He looked over his shoulder and gestured to the other crate, “Gav, start going through the other one.”

Gavin jumped, having been lost in watching Ray mutter things to himself, nodded and popped open the other crate, digging through and taking out various things: some surprisingly fresh bread, more dried meat, and some various fruits that hadn’t gone bad yet, and shoved them into another bag. After a few minutes they had the food, some other needed materials (wool blankets, rough soap, a flint and steel, a machete and a pistol each, and a couple changes of clothes) and the container of potions, for lack of a better name for the vials, packed up in three bags and were ready to head into the jungle. Gavin pulled the map they had received from the woman at the beginning of the game out of his pocket and handed it to Ray, who was still sitting on the ground by the crates though by now he had stopped muttering to himself and actually seemed to be dozing. Gavin asked him, nudging him awake “Hey, can you read this?”

Ray, rubbed his eyes, readjusted his glasses and took it from Gavin, scanning over it before looking back up at Gavin, “Yes, but I don’t think I can place us there this time.”

Gavin shrugged, noting that Ray was fully aware that he had transported them to the island, “That’s alright Ray. Nothing wrong with some adventure,” he looked over his shoulder at his roommate, “Right Michael?”

Michael grunted a, “Yeah, totally,” in a sarcastic tone, turning away from them again, keeping his eyes on the forest for threats.

Gavin grinned though and looking back at Ray, “See? It’s top!”

Ray smiled, and chuckled, “Okay then.”

Gavin handed him a bag and helped him up, pushing him forward, “You lead the way!” Ray shrugged the bag on, threw his hands in the air pointing to the sky, and shouted, “Adventure!” before running into the jungle. Michael and Gavin chased after him and Michael yelled at him, “Slow the fuck down ya shitty Latino!” After a minute or two, Ray slowed down and he began to lead them around some vine infested trees, up a cliff and through a confusing maze of fallen trees before Michael and Gavin grew too tired to keep going for at least a little while.

They stopped near a murky looking lake and across it was a large area of dry land, unlike where they were currently standing which had soil that squished under their feet making Gavin gag every now and then. There didn’t seem to be a way around this lake, so Gavin just took a deep breath and started to walk towards the edge of the lake, the water didn’t look too deep to him, as Ray screamed “NO! STOP!” in protest.

Gavin jumped at Ray’s yell and whipped around to face him, “What the bloody hell? Jesus, Ray, you don’t have to _screech_. Is the water too deep or something?”

Ray shook his head and said uneasily, “No, just we have to find another way around.”

Gavin raised an eyebrow, “Why not?”

Ray shook his head harder, stuttering, his form flickering slightly, “I-I can’t- Gavin, let’s just go a little further down east, we can find another way.”

Gavin shook his head, snorting at him, “What bloody difference does it make? This way is quicker. C’mon, Michael.”

Michael looked hesitant. The way the AI was acting was making him extremely suspicious of the murky water. “Maybe we should listen to Ray. We can’t see through that shit. How do you know there isn’t some…I don’t know…hidden pitfall that could swallow you up?” He slowly said squinting at the water. Was it his imagination or was there something slowly moving in there?

Gavin groaned, “Really, you too? It’s just a bloody lake,” he shrugged and turned back to the water, “I’m just gonna go without you guys.”

Ray ran forward to stop him, but Gavin had already stepped in, holding his bag above his head, and was wading through until it reached his chest before turning back to the two other men, “See? It’s completely f-!” he cut himself off as his face contorted into something between pain and horror. “Bollocks, shit, shit, shit,” he chanted as he quickly ran out of the water, dropping his bag on the shore, and screeched in pain, ripping off his shirt and scratching his chest and back which were now covered with small black leeches.

Ray quickly dashed forward, grabbing Gavin’s wrists and pulling his hands away from himself, “No! Don’t scratch Gavin! Michael, come help me!”

Michael frantically ran to where Gavin was fidgeting uncomfortably in Ray’s grip. Ray told Gavin to sit down on a fallen log and Michael to kneel in front of him. Once he was seated the younger man let go of Gavin’s hands and seemed to be freaking a little now, gesturing wildly at Gavin, “Take the leeches off quick! Um, um, j-just grab them from the middle and quickly rip them off, and throw them over by the trees. I have to- I have to- I-”

His form flickered rapidly as Michael reached forward and ripped a leech off of Gavin’s chest, a few hairs coming off with it and Gavin yelped in pain. Michael winced and chucked the leech over by the trees, “Sorry, buddy.” Gavin nodded shakily, his face pale, “’S okay.” Michael began to tear the leeches off as fast as he could and hurled them after the first pulling them all off as quickly as possible. Finally all parasites were off Gavin and Michael started to walk back around to Gavin’s front after removing the ones on his back, “You okay now? I mean, they probably left some painful bruises, but-”

“Michael.”

Michael looked back up at Gavin’s face, which had an odd expression of discomfort on it, “What?”

Gavin winced and screwed his eyes shut, “C-Could you just look away for a second?”

“What? Why?”

Gavin’s hands fisted into balls, “Michael, please.”

Michael hesitantly agreed, “Alright…” he turned to face the trees, “I’m not looking.”

Gavin blushed as Michael turned away. He was really starting to hate this game now. He could feel a leech eating his blood at the base of his dick and he was actually more irritated and embarrassed by its presence than in pain. He reached down into his pants and ripped the thing off, nearly squealing in agony and then throwing its bloated body against a tree so hard he heard it smash into the leaves.

Michael had turned back to face Gavin when heard his squeal of pain and saw him hurl the leech into the tree, he smirked at Gavin, “Awww did one get in an unfriendly place Gav?” Gavin huffed at him, “Shut up, you pleb.” Michael laughed, but quickly sobered, “Does it hurt, still?”

Gavin nodded silently and Michael stood up, “I’ll see if we can find something for it okay?” he walked off to the bags and Gavin looked at Ray who was still flickering slightly as he paced and hyperventilated, “Ray, um, you okay?”

Ray stopped moving and looked at Gavin. Once he saw that the Brit was no longer in danger, he visibly calmed down, the flickering stopping, “Yea, I’m good now.”

Gavin smiled at him, “Top.”

Michael came back over with the med container and popped it open, setting it in front of Ray, “Hey Ray? Can you find a good one for Gavin’s bruises and bites?”

Ray nodded, picking up random vials and looking for one Gavin needed, muttering the name of each one under his breath, before he mumbled, “ _Ictus_ ,” and picked a bright purple one up and held it out to Gavin, “Here you go Gavin, this one should help you.”

Gavin took the vial and popped off the cork, looking at the purple liquid for an uneasy moment before swiftly swallowing it and choking for a second on the bitter taste. He quickly recovered and as he placed the empty vial back in the container, he could feel warmth resonate through his whole body and the pain was gone. He looked at his chest and sighed with relief that all the nasty red marks that the leeches left behind were gone, “That was scary.”

Ray nodded, flickering once uneasily, “You certainly scared me.” Michael looked up at the sky that was currently darkening, “Yeah, I think we should just sleep for now. Regain some energy.”

Gavin yawned and nodded, “I agree,” he reached over to where his shirt lay, and paused seeing it was now covered in mud. He sighed since it was too dark to find another shirt; he let it drop back down onto the ground and pulled out one of the wool blankets that they found in the crate. He wrapped it around his shoulders and moved back to where he had been, laying down and closing his eyes. Michael followed his lead, grabbing a blanket and laid down a short distance away from Gavin to get some rest. He watched Ray made a small fire and curled up near it.

“Hey Ray?” Michael quietly asked. “Yeah Michael?” Ray whispered back. “You…You do know this is a game right?” He whispered as his eyes drifted close, almost instantly falling asleep.

He missed Ray’s sad look at him and Gavin and his very soft and sad reply, before he settled down to sleep too, “Yea…I know…”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Michael was the first to wake up the next day and when he made to move his arms to stretch, he almost knocked Ray and Gavin in the face. Both of the now sleeping men had obviously moved during their sleep, possibly because they were cold, and now were huddled around Michael. Michael sighed and wriggled into a sitting position. He carefully stood and went to his bag to grab some food to eat before the other two woke up and they had to move out again.

While Michael as munching on a small piece of meat, Gavin woke up as well, as the temperature slowly rose with the sun, rubbing his eyes and looked around confused by the lack of Michael. He stood up and the blanket fell from his body, his fuzzy chest uncovered again, he dazedly wandered over to the bags and pulled out a piece of bread.

He plopped down next to Michael and leant against him, putting his left leg on top of Michael’s right and took a bite of the bread, mumbling sleepily, “Mornin’, Micool.” Michael glanced up at him from the corner of his eye and gave him a confused look, “Um, good… morning?” In all honesty, Michael wasn’t that uncomfortable with the situation, Gavin actually felt really nice pressed against him, but this wasn’t something they really ever did.

Gavin looked down at Michael and took another bite of his bread before he seemed to realize what he was doing and quickly pulled away from Michael, his face going red with embarrassment, “Um, I- well, I didn’t mean to- I’m sorry, I just- I’m tired and uh,” his words faded into nervous laughter and Michael just smiled at him, “Dude, calm down. It’s fine, you don’t have to get so worked up about it.”

Gavin huffed out a laugh, “Oh, uh, yeah, sorry,” he rubbed the back of neck and looked at the ground, taking another bite of his bread.

Michael just shook his head and continued to eat his own breakfast, “You’re so weird sometimes.”

At that point, Ray had woken up too, a wide smile on his face and he was quick to stand up and stretch, grabbing an apple from the bag, ready to move to the next part of their adventure, “So when are we leaving?”

Michael waved him off, tiredly, “In a little while, man. I’m still waking up and shit.”

Ray whined for a second and then grabbed a piece of meat from the bag, and sat beside Gavin alternating bites of the fruit and the meat. A silence fell over them as they ate their food and when they finished, Ray began to quickly pack up all of their stuff and grabbed the bag he was designated to carry. Michael sighed and stood, grabbing his own bag and waited for Gavin to get up. Gavin noticed that they were ready to leave and grabbed the last bag, he looked down at his torso and seeming to just realize that he still wasn’t wearing a shirt. He looked at Michael and pouted, “Michael, I want a shirt.”

Michael scoffed at him, “What am I gonna do about it? If I give you a new one it’s only gonna get mucked up again knowing you.”

Gavin huffed, shifting the bag on his shoulders, “I know, but I want one. I’m gonna get cold my boi.”

Michael rubbed his face, groaning, “It’s like, 80 degrees already and it’s only gonna get hotter. You’ll be fine for now.”

Gavin sighed, and muttered, “Fine, whatever.”

The three of them started off again, Ray leading them around the leech lake and into more vine infested jungle. They didn’t talk much on this part of the trip and let Ray concentrate on the map, occasionally fucking around with each other ( _Michael slapping Gavin with a tree branch, Gavin hitting Michael with his bag, Michael yelling at Gavin to not ruin their shit by dropping his bag, etc._ ) until they stopped to rest again.

Michael regretted not giving Gavin a shirt to put on now that they were stopped and all he could look at was Gavin’s stupid furry chest that was glistening with sweat. He placed his bag next to Ray’s and Gavin’s and sat down as far from Gavin as he could and kept his head in his hands.

“You okay, Michael?” Gavin’s voice seemed to echo from a great distance and he looked up slightly, not meeting Gavin’s eyes, “Yeah, just really tired is all.”

Gavin nodded a very worried look on his face, “Okay.”

Michael started to lower his head again, but turned away to stare at the moss growing on one of the massive trees surrounding them when the moss turned purple then pixilated before flicking through several random colors. Michael shook his head, standing up and backing away from the glitching moss, “Aw fuck! No, no, no! We are not glitching out again, fuck!”

Gavin looked to where Michael was looking and gasped as the glitching of the moss slowly spread up to the whole tree which turned into a pixilated mess, then all of the trees. The ground went from a vibrant green to yellowish brown in two seconds flat and they both looked to Ray, who was grinning maniacally, his eyes glowing red as he kept repeating, “You’re here forever,” over and over. Gavin covered his ears to block out the AI’s voice and turning away from him, looking desperately at Michael for answers.

Michael didn’t know what to do as the sky was starting to swirl above them, looking like a whirlpool of multicolored gases, and the ground began to slowly disappear, everything it was supporting tumbling into the black abyss left behind. He ran over to Gavin and just held the Brit close, hoping the glitch would end soon.

Ray’s voice still rang through the noise and had gotten deeper and more demonic sounding with every passing second. Michael could feel Gavin shuddering against him and they both made the horrible mistake of looking at the ground, seeing the receding grass and both turning to face each other again.

Michael choked back a sob, as he whispered, “I’m really sorry, Gavin.”

Gavin shook his head, tears running down his face, “No, I-I was the dumb idiot that made you do this, it’s my fault, I-”

Michael ran a hand through his own damp hair, “Gav, it’s alright. It’s not- It’s not your fault. I don’t blame you, okay? I’m sorry I got so angry at you, I’m just-”

Michael’s sentence was cut off by their combined screaming as they fell into the abyss and after falling for what seemed like forever, their bodies slammed into solid ground again. After laying there for awhile in shock, they slowly sat up and looked at their surroundings.

They were at the edge of the jungle and there was a large plain off in the distance. Ray and their bags, their supplies, were nowhere in sight.

The game had dropped them some random place on the map and now they were utterly and completely lost…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shinju here! Now can you say "Self-Aware AIs that know that they are AIs"? ;)


	5. Ray Has to Save Everybody's Ass...Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shinju here just letting you know that I did it! I included one of the best scenes in The Road to El Dorado ever. Of all time. :3
> 
> Translations for Ray this chapter are (in order):  
> "Yes?"  
> "I think so...Can you see me?"  
> "I'm saying... I guess not."

**_ LAST TIME DURING CODE TO EL DORADO _ **

_Michael’s sentence was cut off by their combined screaming as they fell into the abyss and after falling for what seemed like forever, their bodies slammed into solid ground again. After laying there for awhile in shock, they slowly sat up and looked at their surroundings._

_They were at the edge of the jungle and there was a large plain off in the distance. Ray and their bags, their supplies, were nowhere in sight._

_The game had dropped them some random place on the map and now they were utterly and completely lost…_

Michael and Gavin sat beside each other on the muddy ground and stared around unbelievingly at the area they just been dropped into. After a long, tense silence, Michael finally spoke, “What…What the fuck are we gonna do now?” Gavin shook his head, a frightened look on his face, “I don’t- I don’t know… should we move or wait for… something…?”

Michael pushed himself up off the ground with some difficulty and looked around them before sighing and admitting softly “I don’t think there’s anything to wait for, Gav.”

Gavin bit his lip and asked, “So are we just going into the field or into the jungle or…?”

Michael shrugged, offering Gavin a hand, “We just came from the fucking jungle, so I guess into the field? This game is just fucking with us now, isn’t it?” Gavin took his hand and stood up next to him, “Sorry, I got us into this mess, Michael,” he squeezed Michael’s hand briefly before he let go and began walking out straight into the field, Michael following after him.

“Gav, don’t- look, I told you, I don’t blame you, alright? I know you just wanted to have some fun, it’s all good, okay?”

Gavin looked back at him, an upset look on his face, “I know what you said, but it’s still my fault whether you blame me or not. Let’s just- let’s just go.”

Michael’s eyebrows drew together and he began to say something else, but thought maybe Gavin just needed some space so he kept quiet and just nodded, following behind the Brit. They wandered through the field until nothing but grass was surrounding them and the sky began to bleed with pink and orange as the sun started to set. They soon became tired, and decided to sit down where they were, since they didn’t have Ray to tell them where they should stop, and had no food to replenish themselves.

Gavin had been looking off into nowhere when he spotted something a few yards behind Michael and got up to get a closer look at it. Michael turned to stare him as Gavin got up and asked, “Dude, what the fuck are you doing?”

Gavin wordlessly walked over to an object that seemed to be suspended in the air and let out a small cry of surprise as he realized the object was a pair of thick- framed, black glasses just floating a few inches below his eye level. “Micool come ‘ere!” Gavin cried out, not taking his eyes off the glasses as he gestured for Michael to come over.

Michael groaned as he stood up and stomped over “Better be worth it you jackass…” He stopped in his tracks when he saw what Gavin was looking at, “What the ever-living fuck is that?”

Gavin shrugged, “I-I don’t know,” he reached out to touch them when they started blinking in and out of existence like Ray had before during the leech incident. He pulled his hand away from the glasses and they stopped flickering though now they seemed focused on Gavin.

 Gavin raised an eyebrow and turned to Michael, and asked eagerly, “You think it’s Ray?”

Michael still looked a little lost, as he shrugged, “Um, maybe?”

Gavin looked back at the floating glasses, and asked hopefully, “R-Ray?”

Ray’s body flickered into view, with a quite a few more cuts and bruises than Gavin and Michael remembered him having, and smiled at him. All he said was “¿Sí?” before his body flickered away, the glasses staying behind. Gavin gave them a confused look, asking “Can you stay here? Are you stuck somewhere else?”

Ray flickered back, and spoke rapid Spanish at him, “Creo que sí… ¿Puedes verme?”

Gavin looked confused, and told him, “Um, Ray, I don’t- I can’t understand you. Can you speak English?”

Ray looked baffled, “Yo estoy hablando… supongo que no.” he sighed, the palm of his right hand hitting his forehead as he touched his throat with his left, tapping his fingers in some sort of rhythmic pattern and then spoke again, this time in English, “Okay, I’m speaking English now, right?”

Gavin nodded, giving him a big grin, “You’re good now.”

Ray was still flickering slightly, but never completely left their view like a fuzzy TV program and cleared his throat before slowly continuing, “I don’t know when I can fully come back to this plane of existence, but I got all of our shit with me so when I do, you guys can eat and stuff.”

Gavin grinned, “That’s great! Try and hurry because I don’t want to die in a video game over starvation and I’m sure Michael doesn’t either.”

Michael nodded, wrinkling his nose, “Yeah, that’d be a really shitty way to die. Um, do you know if this is the right way?”

Ray looked around, humming thoughtfully. “Uh, you guys are a bit too much east just,” he turned a little to the left of where they had been headed and pointed, “go that way-ish and you’ll be alright. I’ll try and stay with you guys as long as I can and at some point, I’ll hopefully get this,” he gestured towards his flickering form, “under control.”

Michael smiled, feeling strangely relieved that Ray was okay, “Good, thanks Ray, but we’re just gonna sleep for the night, that alright? It’s getting pretty dark out and who knows what could happen if we encounter something without you to help us.”

Ray nodded, and gave the two a small wave “Just as long as you don’t forget where you need to go. It’ll actually be easier for me to return into this plane if you stay in one spot anyway. Sleep well, guys.”

Gavin went back over to where they had stopped before and plopped to the ground, lying down on his side. Michael followed suit and lay down a foot or two away from him. Just as Michael was feeling himself drifting off to sleep, he heard a quiet British voice whisper, “Michael?”

Michael sighed and opened one of his eyes to look at Gavin, who had sat up with his arms wrapped around him, “Yeah?”

Gavin shivered and looked at the ground, avoiding eye contact with him, “Uh, it’s a bit nippy without my shirt, and I was wondering if can you just move a bit closer, you know body heat and all that...”

Michael stared at him for a second, before stuttering, glad that the darkness hid his blush, “Yeah, um, sure Gav…” he scooted so they were only a few inches apart and then shuffled into a comfortable position, shutting his eyes again.

He heard Gavin murmur thank you before he completely fell asleep.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Gavin woke up the next morning at dawn, he heard shuffling and mumbling someone who he assumed to be Ray from the occasional curse in Spanish and smiled to himself, glad that the quirky AI was officially back in the game with them. He blinked opening his eyes and saw that a blanket had been laid over Michael and him. He also belatedly registered that the back of Michael’s head was about two inches from his face. His face heated up as he felt that the rest of his body was pressed up against the back of Michael’s and he shot back in surprise, the blanket tearing off of Michael in the process.

Gavin’s face flushed with embarrassment and ran his hands through his hair a few times nervously, as he muttered, “Oh bollocks.”

Michael turned his body to face Gavin, frowning in his sleep, and reached out for the blanket that was now lying across Gavin’s legs. Before Gavin could attempt to put the blanket back over Michael, he grabbed the blanket and Gavin’s pant leg and pulled them to his chest murmuring, “No, blanket, you can’t run away from me.”

Gavin stared at Michael for a moment before slowly pulling his leg out of Michael’s grip and stumbling away from him, “What the bloody hell?”

Ray walked past to the three bags that Gavin was happy to see in their possession again and placed a few things in them before seeing Gavin awake and grinning over at him, giving him a cheeky wink “Hey, Gav, you and Michael, uh, sleep well?”

Gavin groaned, covering his face with both hands “Shut your gob, Ray.”

Ray laughed, mock offended, “What? I just asked a completely innocent question about your sleep!”

Gavin scoffed, squinting at the Puerto Rican, “Yeah, right.”

Ray smiled, wiggling his eyebrows, “Okay, okay, that might be a lie.”

Gavin laughed and nodded, “Oh, yeah, _might_.”

Ray gestured at Michael, as he pulled out their machetes, “Wake the asshole up, won’t you? We have a long day’s travel in front of us.”

Gavin nodded and walked over to where Michael was still sleeping, cautiously crouching down to shake him, knowing from two years of living with him that the Jersey-born man was a relatively heavy sleeper and that he didn’t like to be woken up against his own accord. Gavin shook his shoulder roughly, ready to jump away if Michael swung at him, and “Come on, Michael. It’s time to wake up.”

Michael whined in protest and slapped at Gavin’s bare chest, “No! I’m fucking sleeping right now, not waking up.”

Gavin sighed, and pleaded “Michael, we have to keep going, okay? Now, come on, get up.”

Michael groaned and sat up, nearly head-butting Gavin, as he grumbled “You suck.”

Gavin laughed a little, “Ah, but you love me my boi.”

Michael glared at him, a tiny smile on his face, “Nobody asked you, you douchecanoe.”

Gavin just smiled wider, “You aren’t denying it, Michael.”

Michael pushed at Gavin’s face with his hand, laughing at the Brit, “Just shut up you dickhead and get me some food.”

Gavin saluted as he stood up and walked over to the bags of food that Ray had pulled out of their packs, grabbing an apple and a peach as well as a red t-shirt to change into. He walked back to where Michael was still sitting and plopped down next to him, holding out both fruits to Michael, “Peach or apple?”

Michael shrugged and grabbed the apple, taking a bite out of it. Gavin pulled on the tee before taking a bite of the peach and then called out to Ray, “Are we almost ready to go, Ray?”

Ray gave them a thumbs-up as he threw the last piece of food that he had unpacked into a bag, “Yeah, you guys eat and jack off or whatever you gays need to do, then we can go.”

Gavin stood, snickering, “I can multitask.” Ray waggled his eyebrows at him as Michael sighed and stood up as well, “Yeah, yeah, let’s get going.”

Gavin grabbed a bag and Michael followed behind him, picking up another bag. Ray grabbed the last bag and held the map in front of him, leading them through the field which, even with Ray’s directions, still seemed ridiculously endless.

“Hey, Michael?” Gavin asked, staring up at the practically cloudless sky.

“Yes dumbass?” Michael sighed, praying that Gavin wasn’t going to ask one of his stupid philosophical questions again.

“Did you ever imagine a game like this?” Gavin had a sad weird look on his face. Michael blinked at him and stared at his feet as he thought hard. He finally admitted, jerking a thumb at Ray, “The Latino is a fucking surprise.”

“I love you assholes too!” Ray called out from where he was in front of them.

“Do you…If you were to die right now, would you have any regrets?” Gavin asked. “You mean besides fucking dying in a game? Fuck yea: That I never got a higher gamerscore.” Gavin chuckled before softly saying “My regret, besides dying, would be that here we are, having the adventure of a lifetime and no one would even know that we did it!”

Michael was silent before bumping shoulders with the Brit “If it’s any consolation to you Gavin, you made my shitty life an adventure…Even if it was fucking filled with shitty Indie games.”

 Gavin laughed before bumping hips with Michael as he replied “And if it’s any consolation to you Micool, you always had a higher gamerscore than me.” Michael snorted at that.

Both dissolved into laughter as Ray shouted back at them “GAAAAAAAY~!”

Eventually, they reached the end of the grassy area and the ground became plain dirt, broken up with the occasional rock. They walked along a little further when they were met with a dead end of a valley. In front of them was a large, looming rock that had what looked like tribal drawings carved into it and an impressive waterfall behind it.

 When they approached it, Ray looked up from the map to the odd stone and back in confusion, “Um, this is- this is supposed to be where El Dorado is according to the map.”

Michael blinked up at the stone then he hurried to the side to look behind it and saw nothing but the rocky dirt on the ground surrounding a pool at the base of the falls and the heavy fog in the air. He was nearly shaking in anger, “Are you fucking kidding me? What is this bullshit?! Where is the ‘City of Gold’ or whatever the fuck?” he turned to Ray, who flinched as he screamed at him, “Your stupid directions led us to this stupid rock, you piece of shit AI!”

Gavin walked up to Michael and gently touched his shoulder, “Michael, you have to-”

Michael rolled his shoulder away from Gavin’s hand and whipped around to face him shouting, “Don’t you fucking come over here and tell me this isn’t his fault and that I’m overreacting! This is fucking bullshit, Gavin! He’s an NPC, he’s supposed to know about this fucking game and how to help you and me fucking beat it!”

Gavin shook his head, calmly saying, “Michael, all I’m saying is that you should calm down, okay? There’s no use in getting all worked up, Ray did his best and look at him, he doesn’t know what’s wrong, and he thought the map was supposed to get us here.”

Michael looked over his shoulder at Ray, who was looking from the map to the rock in mixed confusion and sadness, and his anger drained away a little. He sighed rubbing his face before asking “Well then, what are we gonna do Gav?”

Gavin shrugged, pursing his lips, “Maybe if we go back, we can see if there’s a different path somewhere?”

Michael felt his temper flaring back up, as he gritted out, “Go back where, Gavin? What good is tha-?”

“Um, hot girl at twelve o’clock, you guys!” Ray had called out over the beginning of Michael’s rant and Michael stopped, looking incredulously over at Ray, who was peering around the side of the rock. Ray gestured for them to join him and when the two other men walked over to Ray and looked around the rock, they saw a beautiful redheaded woman coming full speed at them.

A woman who appeared to have at least ten warrior looking guys chasing after her.

“Bollocks…”

“Couldn’t have said it any fucking better myself Gav…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahh this is bjdunkelfuck just quickly would like to say one, thank you for all the kudos and what not i appreciate it!!!! two i have a two week spring break so updates will probably be more frequent (hopefully) and lastly the spanish ray speaks is a combination of my knowledge from spanish 1 im currently taking and a little google translate thats all thanks!!!!


	6. Michael and Gavin Become Gods

**LAST TIME DURING CODE TO EL DORADO**

_“Um, hot girl at twelve o’clock, you guys!” Ray had called out over the beginning of Michael’s rant and Michael stopped, looking incredulously over at Ray, who was peering around the side of the rock. Ray gestured for them to join him and when the two other men walked over to Ray and looked around the rock, they saw a beautiful redheaded woman coming full speed at them._

_A woman who appeared to have at least ten warrior looking guys chasing after her._

_“Bollocks…”_

_“Couldn’t have said it any fucking better myself Gav…”_

The warriors caught up to the woman before they reached the stone and one of them, wearing a yellow and blue sarong, grabbed her by the back of her light beige and dark purple dress. The woman struggled against the warrior’s grip, but he seemed to have a good hold on her as he indistinctly said something to her that made her stop struggling. The warriors began to turn back into the fog but one of them, dressed in a green and red sarong which looked odd with his dark framed glasses and bright ginger hair, looked back and noticed the three men peering from behind the rock and stopped, pointing them out to the others before walking over to where they stood.

Michael took a few steps back, behind the rock, grabbing Gavin by the back of his shirt and pulling him along with him. He went to grab Ray, but the Puerto Rican had an odd look on his face as he started to walk forward around the rock. Michael hissed frantically at him, “Ray, get your Hispanic ass the fuck over here!”

Ray didn’t seem to hear him and kept walking. The warrior who had spotted them, to Michael and Gavin’s surprise, walked right past Ray and approached Michael and Gavin instead, addressing them in a deep voice, “Come with us.”

Gavin nodded, not willing to fight someone he obviously couldn’t win against, while Michael looked hesitant, and asked “Why?”

The bearded warrior, who seemed to be the leader judging from how the others were waiting for him, blinked at them and simply said, “The High Priest will explain.”

Michael raised an eyebrow, and repeated skeptically “…The High Priest?” The warrior sighed at them, rolling his eyes, and gestured towards the fog with one hand, “Just come inside, you are looking for El Dorado, aren’t you?”

Michael looked over at Gavin, who was grinning at him, and then back at the warrior, “Alright we’ll go, but Ray’s coming with us!”

The warrior looked behind him towards Ray who was cautiously approaching the other warriors, then back at Michael, asking “You mean the peasant?”

Michael nodded, trying to look sure of himself, “Uh, yeah, sure. The peasant.”

The warrior nodded, and started walking off, the two roommates following quickly behind him, “Well, let’s move along then. By the way, my name is Jack.”

Michael mumbled his introduction, “Michael,” which was barely audible over Gavin’s excited “I’m Gavin!” The warrior who was holding the woman firmly by her arm, stood off to the side while Ray shyly talked to him. The AI was making sure to stay a good distance from the frowning red haired woman who was holding some sort of circular, cloth wrapped object in her hands and looked ready to hit someone with it.

Jack signaled something to the man Ray was talking to and the warrior nodded before gently taking Ray by the shoulder, and following Jack, Michael, and Gavin while the other warriors followed behind him, the woman, and Ray.

Michael and Gavin stared in surprise as they passed behind the waterfall that they had heard before into a huge tunnel with a slow-flowing river and Michael, Gavin, Ray, Ray’s new warrior friend, and the angry looking woman were placed in a boat while the other warriors got in a couple other boats. The warrior in their boat sat directly behind the woman and held both her arm in his right hand, using the other to direct the boat. Ray sat next to the warrior and Michael and Gavin sat in front of the woman facing her.

Ray continued to talk to the warrior who happily introduced himself as Joel to the Puerto Rican. They continued talking until they reached a veil of vines and Jack and a few other warriors pushed them aside to reveal the city of El Dorado in all its glory. Michael, and Gavin’s jaws dropped and Ray broke off his conversation with Joel to stare around with wide eyes.

There were a few platforms planted above the water and people were bustling about, a number stopping to peer down at every turn at them until nearly everyone was looking at them. They wound their way through the little canals the platforms created until they reached a long aisle that led up to a huge staircase where a massive golden temple with tribal markings on it stood. Michael, Gavin, and Ray were a bit mesmerized by the beautiful carvings and colorful stones and flowers everywhere.

Jack climbed out of the boat and gestured for them to follow him. They all snapped out of their trances when Jack cleared his throat, and hastily climbed out, following Jack along the aisle towards the temple. There was a mass of people standing whispering amongst themselves, and when they saw Michael and Gavin they stopped whispering and moved to either side to let them pass, bowing their heads as the duo passed them. Michael and Gavin glanced at each other with equally confused looks as they continued following behind Jack.

As they approached the front of the steps, a sandy-haired man with red tribal markings on his face and a black and red sarong around his hips, stepped into view, a wide predatory grin on his face, and a dark haired man sauntered over to stand next to him, tribal markings of various colors stretching from his shoulders to his hands and a black and green sarong around his waist, seemed to be displeased about something. The light haired man smiled at Michael and Gavin before he glanced at the crowd around them, and snapped, his deep voice sounding very close to the guard Jack’s, “Do you peasants know what you are in the presence of? Kneel before your gods, you fools!”

Everyone instantly collapsed to their knees, including Jack, Joel, and the other warriors. Soon the only ones still on their feet were the two men in front of the stairs, Michael, Gavin, and Ray. Michael raised an eyebrow at him, looking around at the now kneeling people, and said “Gods? You mean us?”

The man bowed his head slightly, as he confirmed, “You are as the prophecy described you. You will arrive with a peasant at your side and one of you radiates pure _red_.”

Michael and Gavin exchanged a confused look then faced the man again and Michael shook his head, “I’m sorry, red?”

The man raised his head, his blue eyes boring into the two intensely, as he responded carefully, “Yes, the red one of you is the vengeful god, the one that will kill when your followers do not obey. I can feel it emanating off of you.” he gestured to Michael with a smile. Gavin smirked, and snickered “Yeah, I can see that.”

Michael scoffed and pushed him, hissing, “Shut up, you stupid fuckhead.”

The man looked excited at the small push and grinned at them, “May we have the honor of being introduced to yourselves? Not your true names of course but mortal names that we may call you.”

Gavin nodded and made a ridiculous pose, “I am Gavin, the kind god.” Michael glared at him, and stated flatly “Fuck you, you dipshit.” Gavin grinned, and winked at Michael “No thanks, love. Not right now.” Michael growled and pushed him with both hands and Gavin stumbled back from him and out of his stupid pose.

The light haired man was almost bouncing in excitement at Michael’s little act of violence.

Michael just laughed as Gavin squawked in surprise and almost fell down before he turned back to the man and shrugged, “Michael, the vengeful god, I suppose.”

The man nodded and bowed deeply, saying, “I am Ryan Haywood, devoted High Priest and speaker of the gods.”

The dark haired man who was still standing at Ryan’s side, looked at Ryan then at Michael and Gavin with lazy brilliant blue eyes, before drawling “You have any proof you’re the ‘gods’ correct?”

Gavin scoffed at him, as Michael groaned “Proof? Of course! What proof do you want?”

The dark haired laughed lightly, his lips curving into a smirk, “It doesn’t matter. Cure someone. Cause some weather disruption. Whatever the fuck, you fucks want to do I guess. I really don’t give a shit.”

Ryan glowered at the dark haired man and hissed “You may be the _chief_ but one doesn’t speak in such a crude way to the gods!”The dark haired man glared at him, snapping back, “Have you forgotten which of the two of us is descended from the gods, _Haywood_.”

Michael forced a smile as they glared at each other and grabbed Gavin by the back of his neck, and said over Gavin’s squeals of surprise, “If we could have, uh, just a moment to prepare ourselves for such a miracle, thank you.”

Ryan nodded his approval, not taking his eyes off the dark haired man, and Michael pushed Gavin down the aisle away from the people, before saying sarcastically, “Gavin, you know that little voice in your head that tells you when you are doing something you shouldn’t?”

Gavin raised an eyebrow, as he tried to pry Michael hand off his neck “A conscience? Yes I-!”

Michael removed his hand and balled his fists, half-shouting, “You obviously don’t fucking have one!”

Gavin rubbed the back of his neck, and shrugged apologetically, “I just got a little too in character, I didn’t-”

The Jersey man was huffing in anger, leaning in to scream in Gavin’s face, “You are fucking us in the mouth right now, Gavin! What are we gonna do to perform a miracle?!”

Gavin sighed, wincing at his tone, “Look, I’m sorry-”

“What good is that gonna d-!” Michael shrieked, throwing his hands in the air.

Gavin took a step toward Michael, shouting back, “Stop interrupting me! I don’t know what you want me to do!”

Oblivious to Michael and Gavin, the ground was quaking underneath them and a small crack formed in the ground between Gavin’s feet. As they continued screaming at each other, the crack continued to grow until it began to spread Gavin’s feet apart and he looked down in surprise, jumping back from the almost a foot wide by a 3 foot long crack. He looked up at Michael with wide eyes, then back at the large crack in the ground, then at Michael, “M-Michael? D-Did you just..?”

Michael was breathing heavily and looked from the crack, up at Gavin with a mixture of confusion and fear, “Sh-Sh-shit. I-I think I did…”

After a few seconds of shocked silence between, Gavin looked over at the dark haired man, and proclaimed, his voice shaking a bit, hoping they’d see the shaking as exhaustion rather than fear, “I-Is that enough proof for you?”

The man looked genuinely surprised and nodded his response, not saying a word. Ryan seemed almost giddy and ran over to them, pulling them back over to the steps, “Alright, now that we have proven your divinity, we’ll begin your reign here in El Dorado with how you would like us to dispose of a certain little thief…” he gestured for Joel to bring the woman over.

Joel stood and picked the struggling girl up by her wrists, dragging her over to Michael and Gavin and pushed her to her knees in front of them. He then returned to his spot and kneeled again, this time keeping his eyes on them, though mostly on Ray.

Ryan took the woman’s wrist and pulled the golden object she was still holding out of her hands, pulling the plain beige cloth surrounding it away to reveal what looked like a ball of gold with a face that looked suspiciously like Gavin’s engraved into it. The priest looked it over before handing it to Michael, solemnly saying, “She stole this from the temple, your temple might I add. This is blatant disrespect to both of you, who have allowed her to live thus far. How should we have her be punished? Shall I order her to be killed?”

Gavin looked to Michael who looked down at the woman. There was a shimmer about her, the same shimmer that Gavin had said he had seen around Ray.

As Michael watched her, the woman’s head shot up to look right at Michael in fear and she shook her head, stuttering quickly, “N-no, no, please. Y-You misunderstood what happened my lords! I-I took it, because I-I, um, the spirits, they, uh, they spoke to me and t-told me that the gods were going to arrive! That-That they would need help navigating into El Dorado a-and that I would need s-something to show them s-so that they would know I-I wouldn’t lead them astray! T-That is all I planned on doing with it I swear! M-My only wish is to serve the gods,” she gave them a pleading ‘just play along’ look and then looked to the ground again.

When Michael looked back up to the high priest, Ryan, who seemed skeptical about everything she said, looked at the pair expectantly, “What is your choice, my lords?”

Michael glanced at Gavin and gave him a nod. Gavin nodded in return and faced Ryan, proclaiming, “Obviously, this woman was simply trying to help guide us to your city safely and therefore she shall receive no punishment, but she shall receive a warning to never steal from the gods again lest the Wrath of Michael rain down on her.”

As he spoke, Michael pulled the woman to her feet and handed her the golden object with a smirk. Ryan sighed deeply, looking disappointed, and waved the woman off, ordering her, “Put it back in the temple girl. Heed the warning that the gods have mercifully given you.”

The woman nodded and as they watched, she ran up the stairs. Ryan waited until she was about halfway up the stairs before gesturing for Gavin, Michael and Ray to follow him, “Let’s get you and your peasant settled in the temple for the evening my lords.”

Ryan began the ascent up the absurdly long staircase and the dark haired man followed behind them at a leisurely pace, but Ryan didn’t seem to notice him.

About halfway up, the dark haired man called up to Ryan, mockingly, “Hey, Haywood! Don’t you want to tell your boytoy about our guest’s arrival?”

Ryan glared back at him, hissing “He’s an _acolyte_ , Geoff and his name is Kerry. Being the chief you should call him by his name at the very least, but yes, that is a good idea, he will be delighted to hear how the gods have arrived in El Dorado once more.”

Geoff rolled his eyes, and muttered, “Yeah, yeah. _Kerry_. What a stupid name…”

Ryan ignored him, as Gavin giggled breathlessly, and continued up the stairs. When they reached the top of the staircase, Michael, Gavin, and Ray were out of breath and Geoff stifled a laugh walking past them, seeing the trio bent over trying to catch their breath, but when Ryan turned around, they stood up straight and tried to make their breathing as normal as possible.

Ryan and Geoff bowed as they moved aside two pieces of black, green, and red cloth that hung from the opening of the temple and gestured for them to enter. Inside the temple there was a large table with golden bowls of fruit and other foods, a small fountain surrounded by potted plants with exotic red and green flowers, and decorations. On the far side of the room was a massive pile of pillows and blankets as well as a trio of backless couches which Gavin and Michael assumed were their beds.

Ryan gestured to the bowls of food, “You may have as much as you would like of the food and all you need to do is call and more will be brought to you,” he moved to another side of the room, “There are blankets and other things if you or your peasant would like to rest-”

Gavin interjected, slightly offended, “Um, if you could just call him Ray rather than peasant, we would both appreciate it.”

Ryan looked the smallest bit embarrassed, as he bowed “Oh, I’m terribly sorry my lords! Yes, if _Ray_ would like to rest as well.” He smiled, looking up from his bow as he added, “I would like to propose to hold a reverent ceremony at dawn, in your honor of your arrival my l-!”

Geoff cut Ryan off smoothly, smiling broadly as he bowed as well, “Or we could have an extravagant feast tonight.” Ryan sneered at Geoff briefly before inquiring “Which would you prefer, my lords?”

Gavin looked at Michael, and asked, grinning at Michael, “Both?’ Michael nodded, with a smirk, “Both.” They turned to face Ryan and Geoff and simultaneously said, “Both are good.”

Ryan and Geoff exchanged annoyed looks and nodded to them. Geoff bowed and as he exited the temple, he stated he was going to prepare the feast right away, Ryan following close behind him, bowing low to the two as he exited.

Ray, who was lingering by the curtains that served as the door, heard Ryan remark to Geoff “And thus begins the Age of The Cow, Edgar.” The High priest chuckled darkly before saying “Happy New Year, Ramsey!” Ray listened as Geoff scoffed and their footsteps retreated.

Once they were out of hearing range, Gavin let out a huge breath, sagging onto one of the backless couches face-first, “Jebus Lorenzo that was a lot of stairs.”

Michael nodded, sitting on the couch next to Gavin, “Yeah, holy shit man, I almost had a heart attack.”

Ray ran a hand through his hair, as he walked over to the two, “What do they even need all of those for? Jesus Christ...”

Michael laughed, “I know right?”

Ray gestured to the exit, looking uncomfortable, “Um, I-I’m gonna head back down there and do some more, uh, shitty AI stuff…” he took a few steps backward before he turned and ran out leaving Michael half-stutter an attempt to apologize for what he said earlier behind.

Gavin got up and grabbed a cluster of grapes and plopped back down on a pile of blankets, on the floor, patting the spot beside him as he started popping them into his mouth and chewing on them. Michael sighed, and grabbed the whole bowl with fruit in it. He sat down next to Gavin, popping cherries into his mouth and spitting out the pits into a bowl that he set down a few feet away.

After awhile, Gavin spoke, around a half-chewed grape, “Michael?”

Michael spat a pit out before saying, “Yeah?”

“What was that earthquake stuff you did earlier?”

Michael shrugged and rubbed his neck, “I-I really don’t know, man. That was some pretty crazy shit though.”

Gavin sat in thought for a moment, before suggesting, “Maybe you’re leveling up?”

Michael snorted, and nudged Gavin before popping another cherry into his mouth, “Leveling up into what? Into a god?”

Gavin shrugged, “Maybe! That would be cool though! You could be Mogar, the warrior god!”

Michael spat the pit of his cherry out before laughing, “Yeah that would be pretty fucking sweet, and you could be my little jester, Vav the stupid asshole!”

Gavin gasped and put a hand over his chest, faking offense, “Michael, how mean!”

Michael just laughed harder, “You’re such a dumbass.”

A feminine voice cut into their conversation, “Um, am I interrupting something?”

Michael and Gavin looked over at the voice who they realized was the redheaded woman from before.Michael shook his head, blushing slightly, “Uh, n-no, no, it’s fine. Something you want, Ms. ‘My-Only-Wish-Is-To-Serve-The-Gods’?”

The woman laughed lightly, shrugging, “Gotta save my ass somehow. Just wondering how you guys plan on being ‘gods’ though, when you know nothing about the rituals or anything, because you two are _so obviously_ human. The only reason anyone thinks you idiots are deities is because you’re both players from the real world so they are programmed to believe that you guys are something special. Also Michael’s earthquake shit was boss. By the way, how did you do that?”

Michael shook his head, standing up as he crossed his arms into an X in front of him, “Wait, wait, wait, you know that this is a game too?”

Gavin raised an eyebrow Michael, “What do you mean she knows this is a game _too_?”

Michael looked at him, and clarified “Ray knows that this is a game as well remember?” then faced the woman and waited her response. She nodded, “Yeah, it’s just… something you figure out over time, I guess. I’m not really sure how I know either. The point is most people don’t know about this being a game. All they know is that you two are gods but that’s really the extent of their knowledge. Anyway, what’s you guys’ plan on being gods?”

Gavin ran a hand through his hair, as he stood up too, “Yeah, we don’t really have that one down.” The woman snorted before striding over to them and saying “How’s this sound: I help you guys pretend to be gods and all that jazz to help you win the game, and in exchange you tell me all about your world.”

Michael looked at her skeptically and said “That all?” She shrugged and said “I know I can’t leave the game, but I know that once you win the game, you two can come back in at any point you want so you can constantly come back here and tell me about the outside world.”

Gavin happily said “Like in Halo! How you can redo missions you have already done!”

The woman looked confused until Michael told her “Ignore him, he’s stupid.”

As Gavin whined “Micool,” at him Michael added “By the way what’s your name?” The woman smiled and said “Lindsay. Lindsay Tuggey.”

As she spoke, Lindsay walked over to a chest that they hadn’t noticed and pulled out two sarongs, one patterned with red and blue and the other was two different shades of green, a bright green and a dark green. She handed the two-toned green one to Gavin and the red and blue one to Michael then turned back to the chest to pull out two metal crowns, one painted dark green with lighter green and yellow feathers and the other red with several species of blue and yellow flowers pinned around it and two thick square-beaded necklaces that matched their sarongs, placing the jewelry on top of the sarongs in their hands.

“Put these and any other jewelry that you want from the chest on. Before you change, I have a few things to tell you. First of all, always address Ryan as High Priest unless he specifically tells you otherwise. Secondly, Geoff is usually a really chill guy even though he’s the Chief of the city and therefore supposedly descended from the gods but he isn’t much for formalities.”

Gavin interrupted “Does that make him our kid or something?”

Lindsay thoughtfully said “More like cousins since he’s descended from two lesser gods. In any case, do not make him angry or you will have some real problems on your hands because they may think you’re gods but it’s considered rude to disregard family in any way, shape or form. I don’t know if either of them have mentioned him to you two or not, but Kerry is Ryan’s,” she put up finger quotes, “‘ _acolyte_ ’ and he is a fanatic to the gods.”

“Like killing babies for us to feast upon the souls and flesh of kind of fanatic or too scared to even look at us kind of fanatic?” Michael asked, wrinkling his nose.

“He’s one of the second type,” Lindsay said rolling her eyes, “He will probably cry with joy when he meets you. Just be kind to him. He’s really a very sweet kid, he is just badly misled with all that gods talk that spews from Ryan’s mouth. Now you boys get ready for this feast or whatever it is Geoff has planned.” She said as she walked over to a window and sat on the seat imbedded there, chin in her hands.

Michael shrugged and pulled off his dirty vest and shirt, revealing his tattoos on his arms, before pulling on the chunky necklace. Gavin glanced at Lindsay, uneasily, his hands on the hem of his own shirt, “Hey, um, do you mind, Linds?”

Lindsay shook her head “Nah…” and after Gavin stared at her for a second, she gasped, her eyes wide, “Oh. Oh! You mean- oh, of course, I’ll just,” she laughed nervously and stumbled out of the window seat and over to the door dashing past the curtains and down the stairs.

Gavin blinked a few times, “That was a bit weird,” then shrugged and pulled off his shirt, grabbing his necklace off the floor and placing it around his neck, giggling slightly at the contrast of the smooth green stone beads to his hairy chest. He put the feathered crown on his head and grinned over at Michael who was now wearing his own flowery crown, but before Gavin could say anything, he noticed Michael taking off his cargo pants and almost got whiplash trying to look away.

His heart was thundering in his chest and he could feel how hot his face was getting, but he didn’t understand why he was embarrassed he lived with him for god’s sake, he saw him in his boxers all the time and naked a few times, things happen when you’re really drunk.

Gavin changed out of his jeans into the sarong and stayed facing away until Michael poked him, “Hey, you alright, man?”

Both of them were now barefoot and Michael had added thick gold bracelets to his wrists and matching anklets with engravings of bears and swords on them as well as a pair of blue and yellow square clip-on earrings.

He smiled, adjusting his sarong as he made his way over to the chest and started searching through it himself, “Yeah…Yeah…Just thinking, I guess.”

Michael smiled back, as Gavin pulled on a pair of gold bracelets and anklets on that had images of flames engraved onto them as well as a pair of earrings too though his were green and yellow, “Well before I have to hear another one of your stupid hypothetical questions, let’s head down there, yeah?”

Gavin turned around, hooked arms with him, and nodded excitedly, pointing towards the doorway, “To the feast!” Michael just rolled his eyes and tried to keep up with Gavin’s longer strides as he ran out of the temple and down the stairs. At some point, Gavin got tired and slowed to a walk down the rest of the stairs. When they make it to the bottom of the steps, a dark-haired man wearing glasses dressed in a dark red sarong was there to greet them with a deep bow, “My name is Miles and I’m to escort you to the courtyard where the decorations and stuff are all set up so follow me.”

They followed Miles into the city and after a few minutes, they reached a huge plaza with the three main colors; green, black, and red, covering the area in the forms of various decorations from flowers to strings of precious stones strung from one building to another. They noticed that all the people bustling around were also dressed in sarongs of one of those three colors.

“Think those are our colors Gav?” Michael whispered to Gavin who nodded. He noticed that those who wore green paid more attention to him and those that wore red paid more attention to Michael. The ones in black seemed to adore both of them, which kinda freaked Gavin out so he turned his attention to the feast it’s self.

There were tables and chairs set up all over the place, food almost overflowing the tables and Gavin eagerly dragged Michael over to eat and drink the alcohol being provided, “Look, Michael, grapes, and bread, and meats, and wine! Ooo and they have whiskey too!”

While Michael and Gavin ate, a few people brave enough greeted them, before Ryan came over trailing a very short blonde man about their age in a black and blue sarong who had a nervous smile. Curving across his cheeks and forearms were gray markings similar to Ryan’s own but more rounded. Ryan smiled at them, bowing, “My lords, this is Kerry, my acolyte. He is one of the greatest worshippers I’ve seen in a long time. I will leave you to get acquainted.”

Ryan bowed and walked off, leaving Kerry, who seemed a little nervous now that the High Priest wasn’t present, “I-I’m very, very excited to meet you, my lords. I hope I am not intruding on your meal. I…uh…I just wanted to meet you and tell you how wonderful I think you are. Thank you, thank you so much for your help.”

Gavin smiled softly at him, “You aren’t intruding at all. We appreciate it your kind words and are glad to have met such a wonderful worshipper, it is an honor.”

Kerry’s resulting smile nearly split his face, “Oh no, I am a simple human, please the honor is all mine my lords!”

Gavin shook his head, as a weird feeling filled him as words that he didn’t recall thinking of passed through his lips, “Don’t doubt how important you are to us, Kerry.”

Kerry looked like someone told him he just won a billion dollars, “I-I won’t, my lord. Excuse me, I have to…” he trailed off as he hurried away from them.

Michael looked at Gavin with surprise, teasing “Who’s leveling up now, huh? Where did you pull that out of?”

Gavin laughed nervously, “I-I don’t know, but that was really awesome. I sounded all proper and what not!”

Michael laughed with him, lowering his voice, “This game, man, is trying to make us into gods. What a change from trying to fuck us over.”

Gavin grabbed his glass and chugged the rest of his wine, “How nice of it.”

Michael nodded and poured himself and Gavin some more wine, sipping it as they talked to each other. Geoff stopped by to see how they were doing and grinned at the fact that they were enjoying themselves and briefly introduced them to his wife Griffon and his daughter Millie. All of them had a polite conversation until Griffon declared that it was Millie’s bedtime.

At some point after that, they saw Ray, clad in a plain brown, red and green sarong and called out to him, offered him a drink but he told them he didn’t drink so they just shrugged and continued talking and drinking to each other. They both completely missed the sight of the guard named Joel nervously giving Ray a crown of golden roses and then kissing Ray while ridiculously drunk, not that Ray minded that much, before they ducked away into a corner to have some fun.

Late into the night, way past midnight, Michael and Gavin stumbled back into the temple with the help of Ray, who was limping slightly, and Jack, who had been instructed by Geoff and Ryan to guard the gods and not drink any alcohol for the night.

As soon as they were in the area, Michael immediately fell into the piles of blankets and Gavin followed behind him, dropping on top of him, his head on Michael’s chest and their legs tangled together. They were too drunk and exhausted to do anything about it or even register it was happening, so they just drifted into sleep unaware that something big was brewing on the horizon…


	7. Tributes and Arguments

**LAST TIME DURING CODE TO EL DORADO**

_Late into the night, way past midnight, Michael and Gavin stumbled back into the temple with the help of Ray, who was limping slightly, and Jack, who had been instructed by Geoff and Ryan to guard the gods and not drink any alcohol for the night._

_As soon as they were in the area, Michael immediately fell into the piles of blankets and Gavin followed behind him, dropping on top of him, his head on Michael’s chest and their legs tangled together. They were too drunk and exhausted to do anything about it or even register it was happening, so they just drifted into sleep unaware that something big was brewing on the horizon…_

Michael was shaken awake with a hand jostling his shoulder and he blearily opened his eyes to see Ryan smiling creepily down at him, “Good morning my lord.”

Michael blinked, startled, “Uh, m-morning.” Ryan had a hint of a smirk on his face, as he smoothly said, “I just wanted to inform you that the ceremony is going to begin shortly and you should get ready. I’m very sorry for not intruding sooner but, I didn’t realize you two were so… intimate with each other and I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Michael’s eyebrows furrowed, as he looked at the high priest baffled, “What-” he looked down when something squeezed him and immediately realized what Ryan had meant by “intimate”.

Gavin had his head on Michael’s chest and his arms were curled around him, one leg intertwined with his. Michael privately knew that Gavin got like this whenever he was drunk, cuddling up with whoever he was closest to, which usually happened to be Michael mostly, but he couldn’t tell Ryan that Gavin was wasted because gods didn’t get shit-faced drunk so he just chuckled nervously, and said as offhandedly as he could, “Uh, nah, it’s- it’s fine. Gav just likes to cuddle with me when we’re in the human realm, it reminds him of home.” He made a vague dismissive gesture and said “We’ll be ready in five minutes.”

Ryan nodded and bowed quickly as he exited the temple, “A carriage will be awaiting you at the bottom of the steps my lord.”

Once he was gone, Michael sighed and tried to scoot out from under Gavin which didn’t work at all because Gavin just mumble-whined something incomprehensible and pulled him back to his bare chest. Michael groaned and elbowed him hard in the abdomen, making Gavin’s eyes shoot open as he reeled back with a grunt of pain. Gavin stared at him for a few seconds with narrowed eyes before pouting and sitting up, and slurring “Wot was tha’ for Micool?”

Michael stood up, snapping, “We gotta get ready dipshit, we have a ceremony or something that Ryan is holding to attend remember? We should probably grab Ray too since he’s our peasant-servant-thing.” Gavin continued to pout until Michael pointed at him adding “Also you’re the little shit that gets all touchy-feely when you’re drunk, now get up.”

Gavin huffed but stood up and went to search for his feathered crown and jewelry that he had thrown carelessly into the blankets to the side before he collapsed into the pillow pile. It was easier for Michael to find his own crown and jewelry which he had handed to Jack before collapsing into the pile, and Jack had apparently placed neatly on the table for him. He slid the necklace around his neck and carefully fixed the blue and yellow flowers encircling his crown before placing it on his head.

That done he looked around for Ray, because everyone would probably expect to see their gods with their manservant/slave/whatever the hell they thought Ray was to them. When he found Ray, the Puerto Rican was sound asleep on two of the bed-couches that had been pushed together along with someone else.

Michael frowned when he couldn’t tell who was with Ray because of the blanket that was draped over the both of them. He carefully pulled back the blanket a bit and raised an eyebrow at the sight of Ray being little spoon to that other guard guy, Joel if Michael remembered his name correctly. He sighed, leaned in, and gently shook Ray, softly saying “Dude, hey, we gotta get down to the ceremony.”

Ray mumbled something that sounded like “Yo no quiero…” and slowly opened his eyes, to blink at him tiredly, “Huh? Michael?”

Michael nodded, his lips twitching as he held back laughter at the sight of Ray’s messy hair and exhausted face, “Yeah it’s me, man. We gotta get ready for that ceremony of Ryan’s and uh…If, Joel wants to, you know, come along with, I’m pretty sure it’s fine.”

Ray’s eyebrows furrowed, as he muttered, “…Joel? What are you talking…?” He looked over his shoulder and his eyebrows went up in surprise as he saw Joel, still asleep behind him, then turned back to Michael, red staining his cheeks, “Y-Yeah, sorry about that. We’ll be ready in…in a minute.”

Michael just smiled, winking at Ray, and started towards the door to wait for everyone to finish getting ready. After a few minutes of waiting, the three other men were ready to leave, some looking a bit more embarrassed than the others (a.k.a. Joel and Ray) and they all made the journey down the stairs. Like Ryan had said there was a red and green cloth covered carriage and Miles, another guard that they remembered from the night before, was standing beside it and greeted them with a low bow, when they reached the bottom. He looked a little sad, but no one commented on it even though both Michael and Gavin were curious why he looked that way. Miles stated he was going to carry them in the carriage to the sacred area where tribute ceremonies for the gods were held, pointed out the door to the carriage and walked off to the front of the carriage, with Joel following after him.

Ray called over to him, confused, “Hey Joel! What are you doing?”

Joel smiled at him and replied, “I’m going to help Miles carry the carriage, it’ll be almost too heavy for him with three people in it, let alone four. Just go ahead and get in with your…friends, my sunshine.”

Ray smiled back at him, blushing as he teased, “Alright just don’t strain your poor old man body mi corazón de oro.”

Joel rolled his eyes, chuckling, “Hahaha, very funny kiddo.”

Michael, Gavin, and Ray climbed into the plush interior of the carriage and Joel and Miles picked up either one of the two wooden poles coming out of the carriage, and pulled them to the ceremonial area. Gavin and Michael discussed what could possibly be going on while Ray peered between the curtains to stare at the lean muscles rippling just underneath Joel’s pale skin.

“So on a scale of 1 to mind-blowing how good was Joel in bed?” Michael asked with a wicked smirk. Ray turned red and spluttered as Gavin scratched his chin saying, “Well…Judging from how old he looks, plus how fit Joel is, I’m going to guess that he was insanely top.” Ray glowered at them and hissed, “Espero que ustedes dos se muere dolorosamente mientras está follando entre sí,” which made him laugh at Michael’s and Gavin’s resulting expressions of confusion.

After Ray said that phrase at them, they stopped and Miles and Joel pulled aside the curtains for them to get out. The three men climbed out of the carriage, Ray flashing Joel a grateful smile, and they were met with the sight of a large red, green, and black platform where Ryan was standing at the edge.

Ryan beckoned Michael and Gavin over to where he was standing and the two obliged him, Ray staying behind to stand with Joel who held him back, walking over to the edge of the platform. Far below them they could see was a swirling pool of water and Gavin gulped taking a few steps away from the edge cautiously, giving Ryan a look of confusion, “Um, High Priest? What are we doing up here?”

Ryan smiled mysteriously at them, “This is where all tribute ceremonies are held,” he signaled something to Miles and he visibly hesitated before walked off, as Ryan continued, his smile growing more dangerous looking, “We have a gift for you, my lords. If you wouldn’t mind waiting a moment, Miles will bring him up here.”

Gavin raised an eyebrow, “A gift?” Michael had a bad feeling as he asked suspiciously “What do you mean ‘him’?”

Ryan gestured behind them and when they turned to look, Miles was back, with Kerry in tow to their surprise. Kerry had changed his black and blue sarong for a pure black one and had red and green tribal markings painted all over his face and arms and he looked frustrated and determined as he seemed to argue with Miles, who had stopped him from coming close to them with a hand on the smaller man’s shoulder, but no one could hear exactly what they were arguing about.

After a minute or so of them arguing, Miles bit his lip, looking like he was going to cry and Kerry’s face seemed to soften at his expression. He whispered something to him and tears started falling down the dark haired man’s face as he hugged Kerry tightly.

Kerry briefly hugged him back before he straightened and turned to face Michael and Gavin again. Kerry approached the two “gods”, bowing low to them as he passed them and walked over to the edge of the platform. He inhaled deeply, readying himself and kneeled there, crossing his wrists behind his back.

“I-I am ready, High Priest.” Kerry stuttered staring straight ahead, his chin held high.

Ryan smiled softly, pulling out a long thin blade of black stone, “Thank you, Kerry,” he turned to Michael and Gavin who looked a little horrified at the sight and patted Kerry on the shoulder, “Your faithful follower has offered to be the sacrifice for you two.”

Kerry turned his head to look at them briefly, before turning away, “I hope that giving only me to the spirit world is enough to satisfy you both, my lords.”

Michael and Gavin looked helplessly at each other then they stared at Kerry. Ryan cocked his head, and inquired, “Is… something wrong, my lords?”

Michael nervously ran a hand through his hair, and stuttered, “Well, High Priest, I don’t think we should do a sacrifice now. I mean its cuz…um…”

Gavin interjected helpfully, sounding grand as he proclaimed, “The stars. Their alignment is not…it is not suitable for this type of tribute.”

Michael nodded, relieved that Gavin came up with an excuse that Ryan would accept, “Yes, of course. The stars are not in position for a ritual such as this!”

Ryan blinked at them, a vaguely embarrassed look on his face, as he said, “Ah, I see…Mmm…I must have…misinterpreted the heavens. My apologies, I… I’ll go reconsult the scriptures. I wish you both a wonderful day, my lords,” he bowed deeply to Gavin and Michael before heading down the stairs off of the platform.

Michael watched him go with narrowed eyes. Something wasn’t right about the way he walked. The high priest seemed…Angry somehow. “ _At various points there will be characters that will either help you or harm you, depending on how you treat them._ ” Michael remembered the game saying and he made a note to keep an eye out for Ryan just in case he tried something in the future.

While Michael watched Ryan walk off, Gavin helped Kerry up and smiled softly at him as he told him, “Besides who would pray to us every night and be our best little worshipper? You’re such a kind person; you don’t deserve to be sacrificed for our selfish needs, ya? Now let’s get you over to Miles, poor bloke looks like he’s going to go mental!”

Kerry nodded shakily and followed Gavin over to Miles who was still crying. He looked over at Gavin with such a grateful look it made Gavin proud for making the correct choice, “Th-thank you so much, my lord,” he bowed deeply and then took Kerry in his arms, holding onto the smaller man and putting his face in his blond hair with a shaky sigh. Gavin smiled warmly at him, “Not a problem Miles.” He got the weird feeling from the previous night as he said “Kerry is just as important to us as well as you Miles.” Miles nodded as Gavin returned to his spot beside Michael, before he started to pepper Kerry’s face in kisses and told him over and over how he was never allowed to do something like that again and that he loved the acolyte so much. Kerry blushed and hesitantly responded to his kisses.

Gavin grinned at the couple then turned his grin to Michael, and proudly said, “I’m getting pretty good at this, huh Michael?” Michael snorted in amusement and shrugged, “Yeah, I guess so. Poor Kerry though, having to deal with all that religion bullshit that Ryan forced on him.”

Just as Gavin was going to respond, Lindsay came running up the stairs with a sleepy looking Geoff following at a distance behind her and she quickly approached them, bowing for appearances before whispering frantically to them, “What’s going on? Is everyone okay?”

Michael nodded, and said in an undertone, “Yeah now we are, but Ryan just tried to fucking sacrifice Kerry to us. What a great fucking tribute. In any case, Kerry’s fine now. He’s with Miles over there. What’s up with them anyway?”

Lindsay let out a breath of relief, and softly said, “Thank the gods, or well, you guys, I guess. It’s all the same thing now. Anyway, I’m not too sure about specifics, but Miles and Kerry are really good friends. There’s also the tiny fact Miles has a huge crush on Kerry, but all that worshipping of you guys that Kerry does made him not very…available for dating.”

Gavin chuckled, and pointed off to the side, “Well, I guess, he has enough time now.”

Lindsay’s eyebrows furrowed, as she asked, “Wait, what?” She turned to look at Kerry and Miles and gasped when she saw them kissing. She turned back to face Michael and Gavin again, a surprised expression on her face, “Oh wow! I never thought Miles would get enough courage for that!”

Michael smiled at her, “Yeah, that’s great for them.”

Geoff mumbled something into Lindsay’s shoulder which he had fallen against when he had gotten to them and got too tired to stand up straight anymore. Lindsay rolled her eyes and pushed Geoff off of her exasperated, “Speak up, Chief.”

Geoff blinked, yawning, and then smiled at the two men, “You two still want a tribute, right my cousins?”

Michael raised an eyebrow and Gavin shrugged, both nodding as they glanced at each other, “Uh, sure” was their combined response. Geoff nodded and walked off, leaving the two ‘gods’ and Lindsay to stand and wait for him to come back. While Geoff walked off to do whatever, Ray came over trailing Joel behind him and asked, confused, “So, uh, what are we doing now?”

Gavin put his hands up and shrugged in an ‘I don’t know’ motion, “Geoff said we were still getting a tribute of some sort.” Ray nodded, slowly, “Ah, okay, so we’re just… waiting on him?” All three of them nodded and Ray ran a hand through his hair, “Ah…Okay then…”

Michael turned back to Lindsay, “You know what Geoff could be planning?” Lindsay shook her head, and Joel idly said, shifting from one foot to the other, “I heard him say last night that he had come up with a few things to do as tribute just to spite Ryan.” Lindsay thoughtfully added “I’m not exactly sure why he would be so eager to do one since he isn’t really that into giving tribute to the gods, but,” she chuckled, “he’s probably really hungover and most likely just wants to do something interesting for the people.” Michael smiled, “Hungover huh? Well, I can deal with that.”

Lindsay smiled back at him, but before she could respond Geoff ran back from wherever he was and announced, “Bring out the tribute!”

About thirty citizens came up the stairs with large bowls filled with gold of every kind, jewelry, cups, decorations and made two lines up to the ledge. Geoff stood in between each of the lines and looked over at Michael and Gavin, who both had dropped jaws, “Would you like to perform the ceremony Xiabalba, cousins?”

Michael and Gavin looked at each other, then at Geoff and then at Lindsay. Lindsay seemed to be thinking about something and then she nodded hesitantly, whispering to them, “They’re just gonna dump it down the whirlpool into the ‘spirit world’, unless you guys really want fake game gold.”

Michael and Gavin looked back over to Geoff and nodded together, as they proclaimed “Xiabalba!” There were excited cheers from the crowds of people surrounding the area as Geoff signaled the citizens to go and they began to throw the gold into the whirlpool below and after the second pair walked up to the ledge, Lindsay yelled, “Oh shit I forgot! Doing Xiabalba causes a-”

A loud rumbling cut her off and the ground began to shake, making Gavin and Michael stare wide eyed at each other.

They had accidently caused another glitch.

The people all start screaming and run into the whirlpool with the gold, one after the other jumping to their deaths and Geoff started flickering just like Ray had the last time the game glitched. He completely disappeared for a moment before materialized directly in front of Michael and Gavin and grinned wickedly at them. As he opened his mouth to speak, black tar fell from his mouth, a gurgling sound coming from the chief’s throat.

The two roommates jumped back in surprise and Gavin grabbed onto Michael’s bare upper arm making a loud gagging noise as he stared at the tar. They were distantly aware of Ray and Joel glitching out similarly behind Geoff as Lindsay dashed over and pushed Michael and Gavin back behind her, shouting “You two guys stay back! The glitch will eventually pass, but all of us AIs, we’ll all start to freak out a little so just stay away from here and wai-wai-wait! Now go! Get out of here! Run, before-!” Tar began to bubble out of Lindsay’s mouth too, reducing the rest of her words to gurgles and Michael and Gavin both backed up quickly before turning around and running down the steps.

They kept going until the ground stopped rumbling. They were in the middle of one of the city’s squares when they finally stopped and they were surprised that they only felt a little winded. Gavin pointed out, “Hey, you think our new-found godly-ness is helping us out with the getting tired thing?”

Michael breathed out a laugh, “Is that what we’re calling it now? ‘The getting tired thing’? But yeah, if that is what’s going on with us now, it’s pretty cool.” He took off his crown and ran his fingers through his curls before replacing it and said “Let’s head on back, see if everyone’s okay now…”

Gavin agreed and they started wandering around, hoping to find where the ceremony area was but before they could, Lindsay, looking tired but otherwise unaffected, found them and hugged them both tightly, “Oh shit I’m so sorry guys! Are you two boys okay?”

Michael’s face reddened a little but he quickly recovered and reassured her that he and Gavin were completely fine. Lindsay let go of them after a moment, and sighed “Alright, well, we have to get you guys back there, because a lot of people just fell to their death and I’m pretty sure everyone else is going to forget everything about what just happened.”

She frowned slightly adding “I think I forgot a bit about what happened. All I know is we glitched though I can’t say I know how. In any case, you two just need to thank Geoff for the tribute, like it was already given and we can head back to the temple alright? The people that died will respawn in a few hours.” Michael and Gavin nodded, slightly relieved by that thought, and they followed her back to the ceremonial grounds where all the remaining people that were still alive blinked at each other and began to whisper watching the two approach. They could see Ray gently talking to a confused looking Joel, apparently making excuses for what had occurred.

Geoff approached them when they made it to the top of the steps and bowed, a baffled expression on his face, “My lords…My cousins, I’m sorry but I’m feeling a little confused.”

Gavin put on a look of confusion, and lightly said, “About what, Chief Cousin?”

Geoff shook his head slowly, his eyebrows furrowing, “I-I just can’t seem to remember what happened after Lindsay and I came up here…”

Gavin smiled, and soothingly told him, “You just gave us a beautiful tribute in exchange for the High Priest’s sacrifice, although we appreciate his gesture as well. We would now like to return to the temple to, uh, regenerate ourselves after receiving such a wonderful gift.”

Michael nodded solemnly in agreement and after a moment Geoff slowly nodded as well, “Alright, I’m not sure why I’ve forgotten all that, my cousins, but I’m glad you enjoyed the tribute and I hope that you get rested up well.”

He bowed again and Michael and Gavin nodded their acknowledgement. They climbed back down and got back into the carriage. After a moment Lindsay climbed in after them. Shortly after that Joel and Miles picked up the poles and drove them back to the temple, with Kerry and Ray walking on either side to talk to Miles and Joel respectively.

During the trip back Lindsay was silent and seemed lost in thought while Gavin clung to Michael’s wrist as if he was afraid of the Jersey man disappearing.

Michael, Gavin, and Lindsay stepped out of the carriage once they reached the temple and thanked Miles who bowed and then continued talking to Kerry and Joel who bowed and took the carriage away after Ray kissed the guard’s cheek. The four friends climbed the stairs and once they reached the inside, Michael and Ray collapsed onto the beds while Lindsay and Gavin flopped onto the blankets and pillows piled on the floor.

Michael shook his head, staring at the ceiling, “This game is ridiculous.”

Ray turned to face Michael from his spot on his bed, “What’s wrong, Michael?”

Michael sighed, not meeting his eyes, “Nothing, man.”

Gavin smiled, rolling onto his stomach, “This game is starting to be fun again to me. I mean, not only do all these people think we’re gods, but we’re actually kind of becoming gods the longer we stay here. This is actually pretty top. I feel like I could just stay here.”

Michael raised both of his eyebrows, staring at him surprised, “Oh? You think it’s a good idea to stay inside a fucking video game? Especially a video game like this with its crazy ass glitches?”

Gavin shrugged, and replied, “As long as I’m not the one dying, it’s fine to me. Don’t be so negative, Michael.”

Michael sat up, his shoulders tense as he growled, “Are you fucking serious, Gavin?”

Gavin pushed himself up onto his elbows, looking confused at Michael, “Why is that such a big deal to you? No one ever said you had to stay with me.”

Michael shook his head, stunned, “Wha- What are you talking about? You think we can do that, Gavin? I just go back to my life and never fucking see you again? Come home and see your body on the couch with that mask on and not be able to ever interact with you? People will think I murdered you or something! None of this is real, Gavin!”

Gavin sat all the way up, and defended himself, “Look, it was just an idea. I know that there are a lot of problems with it, but its nice here. Our life is so dull, Michael. I mean, you can be with Lindsay here, you like her, don’t you?”

Michael took off his crown, ran a hand through his curls, and pulled at them in frustration, “Lindsay? I mean,” he looked over at her. She was looking at the ground intently, playing with a piece of her hair so Michael looked at Gavin again, stuttering, “I-I don’t know. She’s beautiful and funny and great, but uh…”

Gavin laughed and shook his head, looking triumphant, “Exactly.”

Michael’s fists and teeth clenched, as he gritted out, “What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?”

Gavin shrugged, and pointed out, “I mean, you like her and you would stay here if you could be here with her, wouldn’t you?”

Michael looked at her again and she was looking at him this time, but he quickly looked away and murmured, “I don’t know.” He was torn. On the one hand he knew this was a game but on the other it felt so goddamned real.

Gavin rolled over and sat up, putting his hands in his lap as he sighed, “All I’m saying is that you don’t get to crush my ideas before you think about what you would do you pleb.”

Michael stood up suddenly and grabbed Lindsay by the wrist, picking her up to her feet, hissing, “I want to talk to you,” before he walked to another part of the temple, pulling her along behind him.

Gavin stared after them for a few moments before he stood up as well and turned to Ray, who was staring at the ceiling, “Hey, Ray. You want to come with me down to the villages? You can hang out with your boyfriend or whatever.”

Ray sat up in the bed slowly, and muttered, “I wish Michael would stop saying that.”

Gavin blinked, mentally going over what Michael had been saying, “Saying what Ray?”

Ray sighed, gesturing vaguely around them, “Just about how this isn’t real…” He started to walk off before adding “How Lindsay and I aren’t… real.”

Gavin rubbed the back of his neck, following the Puerto Rican “Oh. Yeah, uh, I’ll try to keep him from saying that. I’m sorry it’s like this, mate.”

Ray stopped in his tracks and turned to face Gavin, flashing him a tight smile “Y-Yeah, I’m just el tonto AI with even more pendejo dreams. ¡No se preocupe! Let’s just go down into the village okay?” he continued to walk out of the temple.

Gavin followed after him, feeling guilty. He didn’t understand the Spanish words that Ray said but he could guess what they meant. “Ray, don’t-” Gavin started to say.

Ray turned back to face him again, a pleading look on his face, “Look, Gavin, I told you. It’s alright; I’m just feeling sorry for myself. Now, vamos a ir.”

Gavin sighed and stayed quiet the rest of their journey down the stairs towards the bustling city below…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shinju here! I just want to say that I don't blame anyone for getting feels reading this chapter because I got all the feels editing this... ;A;  
> In any case the translations for Ray this chapter are (in order):  
> "I don't want to"  
> "my heart of gold"  
> "I hope you two die painfully while fucking each other"  
> "the fool"  
> "stupid"  
> "Don't worry!"  
> "Let's go"


	8. Without Question

**Last Time During Code to El Dorado**

_Ray stopped in his tracks and turned to face Gavin, flashing him a tight smile “Y-Yeah, I’m just el tonto AI with even more pendejo dreams. ¡No se preocupe! Let’s just go down into the village okay?” he continued to walk out of the temple._

_Gavin followed after him, feeling guilty. He didn’t understand the Spanish words that Ray said but he could guess what they meant. “Ray, don’t-” Gavin started to say._

_Ray turned back to face him again, a pleading look on his face, “Look, Gavin, I told you. It’s alright; I’m just feeling sorry for myself. Now, vamos a ir.”_

_Gavin sighed and stayed quiet the rest of their journey down the stairs towards the bustling city below…_

Once Ray and Gavin reached the base of the stairs and entered into the city proper, the atmosphere around them became much cheerier. The sight of all the people bustling about, happily conversing and going about their days made the tense ambiance between the two lads melt away. There were women and men everywhere buying food and trinkets, clothes and weapons. Ducking through the crowds were clusters of children and their pets ranging from little kids and pet cats and dogs, to teenagers with extravagantly colored lizards and birds.

Gavin walked around with Ray and although they just wanted to blend in and observe everyone in the city, many people, especially the green clad ones, went right up to Gavin and bowed to him, saying how wonderful it was to finally meet him and thanked him for the things he didn’t remember doing.

However even as some people walked right up to him and spoke to him directly, many others, mostly people clad in colors other than red, green, or black, cowered away from him and tried to avoid him, flinching if he got anywhere near them as if they were scared he was going to hurt them.

That confused Gavin because he hadn’t done anything to show he was going to hurt anyone so he leaned towards the Puerto Rican with him and whispered to Ray, “Why are some of these people avoiding us?”

Ray smiled, and softly said back, “They all know that you and Michael are close and they saw Michael’s badass terremoto stuff. They just don’t want to make him airado by doing something that may be offensive to you or him.”

Gavin raised his eyebrows, nodding slowly, “Oh. Well I guess that makes sense. Michael wouldn’t do anything to them though. If anything he’d bloody congratulate them for hurting me…”

Ray shrugged, and pointed out, “They don’t know that.” Gavin nodded thoughtfully before he took Ray’s wrist, and said, “Come on then.”

He walked up to one of the women who were actively avoiding him, she was wearing a blue sarong and her child was wearing a green one. The child let go of their mother’s hand and ran over to him, and asked politely “Are you Gavin, my lord?” Gavin crouched to be at their level and grinned, “Yes I am. Who are you, little one?”

The child jumped up and down in excitement, “I’m Sophia! And I love you, Lord Gavin!”She wrapped her arms around his neck and as she did, her mother noticed and ran over to her, sharply saying, “Marcus, what did I tell you about bothering the gods?”

Sophia pulled away from Gavin and turned to her mother, “I told you my name’s Sophia, mama!”

The woman sighed heavily and looked at Gavin with a barely disguised frustrated expression, and bowed before speaking, “I’m sorry, **my lord**. We will be on our way.” Gavin shook his head, feeling a bit uneasy by how she said “my lord”, and stood up smiling at her, “It’s no trouble at all! It’s always nice to meet my followers and obviously your daughter is a wonderful one.”

The woman pursed her lips at him, and shortly said, “I do not mean to be rude **my lord** , but Marcus is my son.” Gavin’s eyebrows furrowed and looked down at Sophia again. She stared down at the ground as she played with her sarong that she had pulled up to her chest, unlike her mother who was wearing a red shirt and the blue sarong around her waist. He looked back at the woman and gestured to Sophia, simply saying, “Sophia doesn’t seem to think so.”

The woman opened her mouth to respond, then closed it, a strange look on her face, and shook her head, “I’m sorry. I’m afraid we should go, **my lord**.”

Sophia looked back up at her and then at Gavin rubbing her arm, “Um, b-before we go, can I ask you something Lord Gavin?”

Gavin smiled at her and nodded, crouching back down to face her, “Of course you may little one.”

Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked away from him, whispering, “Wh-Why did you make me a boy? I-I mean, you are a god and you’re real smart, but I think you must have made a mistake.”

Gavin’s eyes widened and glanced up at Ray who shrugged and gestured as if to say ‘ _Your follower, not mine!_ ’ and he ran a hand though his hair, “Um, well that’s rather difficult to explain so that mortals can understand…Ah, yes! I know how!”

Gavin leaned in and told Sophia, the words flowing out of his mouth easily, “When you mortals are being created by us, we let you choose whether you want to be a boy or a girl. You chose to be a boy at first. Sometimes though as you near this realm, some people begin to change their minds about it and that’s what you did. There’s not a lot you can do about it now though. Who knows, you might change your mind again later on, but either way it’s okay no matter what.”

Gavin glanced up at her mother adding “Your mum should let you be Sophia if you want to. If you happen to change your mind, you could be Marcus again, or you can stay as Sophia forever. You could even be both or neither one if you wish.” He returned his gaze to Sophia, who was staring at him enraptured, “I’m sorry that it happened to you. Michael is the one out of the two of us who has all the special powers so maybe, if you ask nicely, he can help you out later on, sound good?”

Sophia had tears streaming down her face and she nodded enthusiastically, “Th-th-thank you, Lord Gavin!” Gavin took both her hands and smiled, bringing them to his lips for a brief kiss before saying, “You’re welcome, Sophia.” Sophia kissed his cheek happily and went back to her mother. The woman looked properly chastised and bowed again, deeper this time, murmuring apologies, and Sophia mirrored her movements eagerly before the two walked off.

Gavin pulled himself up to stand and Ray smiled at him, clapping a hand onto his bare shoulder, “You are really getting good at this God mierda. Where the hell did you come up with that ‘you choose your gender’ stuff?” Gavin rubbed his neck and shrugged, “I, uh, I’m not sure. I just thought it was the right thing to say. I think the game is really starting to change me and Michael, it’s weird.”

Ray nodded, looking distant, “Yeah, I-I know that feeling. Of being changed by the game…I mean, I’ve been reset un par de veces now so I know I’m different than when we first met. I think it happened to Lindsay at least once now too.” Gavin frowned, biting his lip before whispering, “I’m sorry about that, Ray.”

Ray smiled sadly, and patted the Brit on the back again, gentler this time, “Ah, que está bien. Come on, let’s go explore some more and find mi corazón de oro in the city before the High Priest finds us and tries to kill someone else in your name.”

Gavin nodded and laughed softly at Ray’s lovesick expression at the thought of finding Joel as he followed Ray into the next market square.

As he walked around, he felt something tug at his neck but when he looked back nothing was there.

The feeling stayed as they talked to other people and walked around looking for Joel. Whatever it was wasn’t choking him but it just pinched and pulled at the back of his neck like someone was grabbing the scruff of his neck and trying to pull him somewhere. He asked Ray about it, but the AI shrugged and said it was probably nothing but his paranoia so they continued wandering and found Joel buying a bunch of ruby red roses from a vendor. Ray started talking to the now blushing, stuttering, guard so Gavin decided to let them be and wandered off to explore some more on his own.

He eventually got pulled into a simple ball game that was a mix of football ( _ **It is fucking called soccer Gavin!** Gavin’s inner Michael shouted at him_ ) and basketball with a bunch of kids clad in green and red sarongs. He laughed as he ran about, completely forgetting about the tugging sensation on his neck…

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Michael collapsed facedown onto a couch in another room of the temple, as Lindsay took a seat next to him and waiting for him to speak. Michael eventually rolled over, rubbed his face, and sighed heavily, “Lindsay, I-I don’t know what the fuck I should I’m supposed to be doing anymore.”

Lindsay sighed, “I think you need to talk to Gavin about this, not me. I mean, he’s the one that is trying to live in a glitchy video game even after I already told you guys could visit whenever you like.”

Michael began gesturing wildly, “I fucking know that, but what the fuck am I supposed to say? ‘Oh no, Gavin. You have to listen to me. You’re an adult and can make your own decisions, but you have to stay with me.’ Yeah, that’ll go over really fucking well!” He groaned, letting his arms dangle over the sides of the couch.

Lindsay raised an eyebrow at his antics, as she asked, “We are talking about the same thing right?” Michael looked confused, sitting up on his elbows, “Uh…Pretty sure, yeah. Why?”

Lindsay shrugged, and carefully said, “You’re currently talking about him staying with you. I just didn’t think that had anything to do with him not living in the game.”

Michael sighed, flopping back again, “You know what I meant.” Lindsay put her chin in her hand, a knowing look on her face as she murmured “Do I really?” Michael’s eyebrows furrowed, as he demanded, “What are you talking about?”

Lindsay let her hand fall into her lap and she put her head up, “You guys have been friends for how long?” Michael blinked at her, thinking hard, “Uh, about two, maybe three years, why?”

She shrugged, “Just thinking out loud.” She leaned over Michael and asked “Do you really like me, Michael?” Michael looked away from her, blushing and shrugged, “Yea…I mean you’re a great girl, you’re funny and pretty…”

Lindsay smiled sadly at him, “You like me a whole lot, but you like someone else more, don’t you?” Michael looked up at her, eyes wide, “How do you-? What the fuck makes you think-?”

Lindsay chuckled, “You guys are ridiculous and clueless you do know that right?”

He crossed his arms, glaring at the redhead, “I don’t have a single fucking clue as to what you’re talking about.”

Lindsay raised an eyebrow, and smirked, “Oh, no?” Michael shook his head, with a frown, “Nope.”

“Way to be a fucking baby about it,” she crossed her arms as well and stared down at him.

He scoffed, not meeting her eyes, “Way to be fucking rude.”

She blinked at him, before nodding determined “I’ll prove it,” she leaned over him, grabbed both sides of his face in her hands, and pressed their lips together. Michael froze against her, his eyes wide in shock behind his glasses as she pulled back smiling sadly at him, “You see what I mean?”

Michael shook his head and started to open his mouth to argue, but she just shook her head, “It is fine, Michael. For one, I’m an NPC, an AI and you’re real, we never could be like that. For another thing…Well…Gavin’s a little higher on the list of people you care for than me, huh?”

Michael sputtered a little as he sat up, but when he saw Lindsay’s look hardening, he sighed, “Well, you fucking figured me out then.”

Lindsay smiled softly, “How long?”

He shot her a confused look, “How long what?”

“How- How long have you liked him?”

Michael put his head in his hands and his muffled admission was, “A really fucking long while.”

Lindsay put an arm around his shoulders and squeezed him gently, resting her cheek on his shoulder, “It’ll be okay. You two guys just need to kiss and get it over with already.”

Michael scoffed, removing his hands from his face, “Yeah, I’m sure he’d totally be up for that.”

Lindsay smirked “I wouldn’t doubt it.”

Michael looked at her from the corner of his eye, “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Lindsay just let go of Michael and sighed rolling her eyes, “Like I said you should be talking to Gavin.” She stood up and jerked her head towards the temple exit “Anyway, we should go make sure those two idiots aren’t making trouble in town.”

Michael nodded and stood. Lindsay followed beside him and looped their arms together as they began to make their descent out the curtained doorway and down the stairs. As they walked Michael asked Lindsay about a tugging sensation that he felt on his neck. Lindsay didn’t know what it was either but suggested that maybe Gavin was feeling it to.

About halfway down the steps, they were met with Ryan, who had a strange expression on his face as he approached them. Lindsay quickly pulled her arm away from Michael’s, bowing and smiling nervously at the light haired man in front of them.

Ryan gave Lindsay a suspicious look before he bowed low to Michael, “Good afternoon, my lord. I just came by, because I’d forgotten to my lords of this, but it is The Age of the Cow, The Age of Edgar.” Michael nodded slowly noticing Lindsay’s scared look to the side as Ryan continued “And this Age calls for some tributes that will involve a great deal of blood. Many sacrifices are to be made during this time for the continued good fortune of El Dorado and I just wanted to prepare you for it.”

Michael froze as the faint tugging sensation on his neck grew stronger as Ryan smiled tensely at him, “As I’m sure you well know my Lord Michael, you will be performing most of these rituals and your… counterpart, Lord Gavin will only have to bless their souls before they pass into the spirit world.”

Michael stared wide-eyed at him for a few seconds before clearing his throat, and saying as casually as he could “Uh, of-of course. I will inform Gavin on this and we will decide on how, uh, how this will all be done, the official stuff. If you’ll excuse us for the time being, thank you.”

Ryan bowed again and continued up the stairs. Michael grabbed Lindsay’s wrist and pulled her down the stairs quickly, shaking his head and muttering, “Nope, nope, nope.”

Lindsay almost tripped trying to keep up with Michael’s fast pace, “Fuck, Michael, slow down your roll, I’m going to fall on my face.”

Michael’s speed slowly fell back into a normal one and he sighed, “Sorry, it’s just we really fucking need to find Gavin and Ray and figure out how to fucking finish this shitty game before Ryan tries to make me actually murder people...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shinju here! According to Cheryn, Sophia was inspired by a character from Orange is the New Black (I don't know who, I've never personally seen the show) so there's your reference of the day I guess...
> 
> Ray Translations (in order):  
> earthquake  
> angry  
> shit  
> a few times  
> It's okay  
> my golden heart


	9. The Calm Before the Storm

**Last Time During Code to El Dorado**

_Michael stared wide-eyed at him for a few seconds before clearing his throat, and saying as casually as he could “Uh, of-of course. I will inform Gavin on this and we will decide on how, uh, how this will all be done, the official stuff. If you’ll excuse us for the time being, thank you.”_

_Ryan bowed again and continued up the stairs. Michael grabbed Lindsay’s wrist and pulled her down the stairs quickly, shaking his head and muttering, “Nope, nope, nope.”_

_Lindsay almost tripped trying to keep up with Michael’s fast pace, “Fuck, Michael, slow down your roll, I’m going to fall on my face.”_

_Michael’s speed slowly fell back into a normal one and he sighed, “Sorry, it’s just we really fucking need to find Gavin and Ray and figure out how to fucking finish this shitty game before Ryan tries to make me actually murder people...”_

Michael and Lindsay wandered through the city and while fewer people approached them than Gavin and Ray, the ones who did were nearly bouncing with excitement and asking him to perform some miracle for them like heal them of some affliction or do something to help them get even with someone. Lindsay quickly interjected before Michael could scream at anyone in frustration and explained that “Lord Michael is still resting from the ceremony” and that he had “no available energy for something as great as that.” which seemed to satisfy them.

The whole thing actually made Michael more than a little uncomfortable, since these people had so much trust in him to help them with their lives and just a few minutes ago their High Priest had more or less stated that he, Michael Jones, was meant to kill a large number of them. In his head, Michael knew that it was just a game, and that they'd respawn in a few hours but that was too real for him. It was almost like having the choice of being mean to Clementine in The Walking Dead game, you just couldn't do it.

Whenever they asked the villagers that approached them if they’d seen “Lord Gavin and their faithful servant” and where they had seen themheading if they had, a few said that they saw him, but they didn’t know where Gavin and Ray had gone off to.

As they wandered around searching for Gavin, Michael felt the invisible grip on his neck slowly begin to loosen before tightening again. “Hang on Linds...” Michael grabbed Lindsay's arm to stop her before backing up, the tight feeling pinching at his neck. He stepped forwards and the pinching feeling vanished.

“This way.” Michael and led Lindsay along, following the feeling of the grip loosening on the back of his neck. Eventually, after several minutes of back tracking and searching, the feeling disappeared altogether as they found Gavin playing some game that looked like a mix of soccer and basketball with a bunch of children of varying ages from roughly 7 to roughly 16 in a large courtyard all dressed in either red or green sarongs.

When Lindsay and Michael walked to the edge of the little court that the group was playing on, the older children saw them first and stopped playing. They all bowed to Michael and looked at their feet. “Why are they doing that?” Michael whispered to Lindsay who whispered back, “I assume that they think you're going to yell at Gavin for playing with 'mortals'.”

Gavin hadn’t noticed them until about half of the children playing had stopped moving. He waved excitedly at them when he finally saw them, quickly moving his hand back to grab the chubby ankle ofalittle 5 year old girl wearing a green sarong that he had perchedawkwardly on his shoulders.

“Hey Michael! Hey Lindsay! What’s up?” Gavin cheerfully called over.

Michael glanced at all the kids around Gavin and at the one on his shoulders then back at him, “Uh, we gotta talk, Gavin...” In a softer voice he asked “You enjoying yourself myboi?”

Gavin grinned, “Yeah I am! And um...” Gavin glanced around at the kids who were staring at him with sad expressions, “...Alright give me a second...”

After Michael nodded and made a vague 'Go on' gesture at him, Gavin crouched and leaned back to let the girl off his shoulders, turning around to face her once she had safely climbed off, “Alright, I’ve gotta go do my duties alongside Michael now, so you be good okay?” he glanced at the rest of the children before adding, “That goes for all of you, ya?”

They looked up from the ground to give their various sounds of agreement and smiled at him. They began to continue their game as Gavin carefully stepped through them to meet Michael and Lindsay on the other side of the courtyard. Gavin gave the group one last wave and got bows from the older kidsand calls of “Come back to play with us soon Lord Gavin!” from the younger ones in return as they walked into the main part of the city again.

“So, what’s up?”

Michael sighed, and softly but swiftly said, ignoring the curious looks they were getting, “Ryan came up to us when we were leaving the temple to look for you and Ray. He said something about it being the ‘Age of the Cow' or some shit like that and,” he started to sound a little frantic as he continued, “he started going on about blood and sacrifices and how I was gonna do all the killing and game or not, that is justa little too realistic for me to handle!” He paused and took a deep breath before saying in a calmer tone, “Point is: we need to find Ray, get back to the fucking temple and find out how the fuck we'resupposed to end this game ASAP.”

Gavin’s eyebrows furrowed, as he agreed, “This game is getting really dark if what you said is true and I-I don’t like the sounds of it it. You’re right, we need to get the hell out of here.”

There was a short tense silence between the two as they walked some more, before Lindsay spotted Ray.

“There’s Ray, come on!” Lindsay started walking over to him and the two roommates followed. Ray had a messily put together flower crown made completely out of brilliant red and yellow roses sitting lopsided on his head and a dopey smile on his face as he talked animatedly to both Joel and oddly Kerry.

Lindsay tapped him on the shoulder and raised an eyebrow as he turned to look at her surprised, “Can, uh, we borrow you for a bit?”

Ray nodded in agreement and Kerry nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Michael and Gavin coming over to them, quickly bowing and taking a few steps back, “Oh, um, my lords, I-I didn’t see you there.”

Gavin smiled kindly at him, “It’s fine, Kerry. There’s nothing to apologize about,” he bumped Michael’s shoulder, “Right, Michael?” Michael nodded and grinned at the young blonde, “Yeah, it’s always nice to see you Kerry! You feeling alright?”

Kerry’s eyes widened before dropping to the ground as he played with the edge of his sarong, “Thank you, I’m-I’m feeling fine.”

Michael smiled, “Good,” he leaned over to ruffle his hair, “We gotta go, but we’ll see you later, okay?”

Kerry nodded shyly and bowed again as they turned to leave. Ray gave Joel one last peck on the lips murmuring “ꜟAdiós, mi corazón de oro!” before the older man guided Kerry back to the High Priest’s chambers.

As they watched Joel and Kerry walk off Michael nudged Ray and drawled “Sooo I heard that Joel has a huge dick, can you confirm this?” Ray turned as red as the roses in his crown as he spluttered “¿Q-Qué? ¡No te estoy diciendo!” as Gavin and Lindsay laughed at them.

The four sobered up during their walk back to the temple, as Michael explained to Ray what had happened with Ryan and how they needed to find out how to beat the game. “¡Mierda! ¡Juro por Dios que el hombre está más loco que un barril lleno de monos!” Ray exclaimed shaking his head after Michael explained everything.

“Not quite sure what you said other than that Ryan is super crazy, so yeah I completely agree.” Michael said with a sigh. Ray shrugged “Close enough...”

By the time, they reached the temple and had gotten inside, the sun was beginning to set and Gavin was yawning, exhausted from his tiring day of playing games with the city's children. Ray and Lindsay sat on either of the two beds and Michael and Gavin plopped down into the nest of blankets and pillows.

As Gavin dozed, the other three fell into a short discussion about anything Ray and Lindsay knew about how the game would end. It didn’t last long though because as the two NPCs continued to explain some of the lore or tell an important plot point of the game they would literally choke up and couldn’t speak about certain subjects until they started talking about something else.

Eventually they called it a night and put out any candles that were still lit before they went to bed...

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Michael woke up to something heavy on his face and the sound of electrical whirring in his ears. He slowly blinked his eyes open and as he sat up, a sharp pain shot through his neck and he winced rubbing his neck. He suddenly realized that he could see the inner workings of the mask made for the game and frantically reached up to rip the mask off his face with a gasp.

Michael blinked, squinting in the sudden light, as he looked around him, stunned.

He was in Gavin and his shared apartment again and it looked just like they had left it: a few random articles of clothing from either one of them scattered on the floor, a small stack of video games on the coffee table along with the laptop, both of their controllers, and their respective wires all tangled in front of their tiny shared television.

He looked to the side and saw Gavin, mask still on his face and his whole body relaxed against the couch, his head tipped over the back of it. Michael quickly crawled over to the Brit and gently cradled his head in one hand, pulling on the mask with his other hand.

The mask didn’t move an inch.

Michael let go of Gavin’s head and used both hands to desperately pry at the mask that was still clinging to Gavin’s face. The mask stayed firmly on as Michael cried out in frustration and fear. He froze when he heard a mechanical voice say from behind him on repeat, “Error, error, error…”

Michael could feel tears pricking at his eyes and he shook the mask, Gavin’s head rattling around with it, but the mask firmly stayed where it was. Michael could feel the tears coming down his face and he shook his head repeating over and over, “No, no, no, please fucking god no. Gav, please…”

He was practically sitting on Gavin now and his hands burned with pain as he sliced apart his fingertips, trying to pull off the mask. The voice behind him stopped abruptly before it began speaking again in a familiar deep male voice, “Player 1 is still in game, do not try to alter what has happened, Player 2.”

He didn’t turn away from Gavin as he growled, his voice hoarse from crying, “Shut the fuck up! Just let him the fuck go already!”

The voice sighed, “Player 1 has made his choice, as did you. I cannot change what he has chosen to happen and neither can you, Player 2.”

Michael gripped the fabric of Gavin’s shirt and gritted his teeth, snarling, “If you can’t help me get him out of the fucking game then just shut the fuck up! Don’t tell me what I can’t fucking do, just go the fuck away!”

The voice stopped talking and was replaced with white noise as Michael gave one last pull at the mask before he let his hands drop to his sides. He placed his forehead on the taller man’s shoulder, muttering, “I’m so fucking sorry, Gavin...”

He began to sob quietly and got progressively louder until he felt a jolt run through him.

He could hear a panicked, familiar voice calling out his name, but it sounded far away and he just couldn’t stop crying, hiccups shaking through his entire body as a mixture of tears and snot streamed down his face. The voice called out to him a few more times before another tremor ran through him and he was falling, far from Gavin and their apartment..

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He sat up and looked around wildly as he registered that he was still lying one of the couches in the temple. Ray and Lindsay looked concerned at him from where they were standing a few feet away while Gavin leaned over him, worry etched into his face as he asked anxiously, his accent thick in his panic, “Micool? Are you okay my boi?”

Michael didn’t know whether to feel relieved or disappointed that it had just been a fucked up dream. On the one hand, Gavin was perfectly okay, but on the other, they were both still in the game. His mind was swirling with various conflicting emotions, but his instinct was to hold onto Gavin, because he was definitely not going to be letting him leave his sight for a good long while.

He pulled Gavin down into a tight embrace and put his face in the crook of Gavin’s neck, his voice cracking as he spoke, “Y-You’re okay Gavin...”

Gavin tensed against him and turned a few shades of pink, “Uh, Michael?”

Michael shook his head, and muttered, “Sh-Shut up, Gavin. Just..Just fucking hug me back, you asshole.” The Brit relaxed slightly and sat down on the pillows next to Michael, gently looping his arms around him as he pulled the Jersey man onto his lap so that Gavin didn’t have to hang over Michael. He rubbed Michael's back softly as he shivered in Gavin's arms.

Gavin looked up at Ray and Lindsay, who both had small smiles on their faces. Gavin’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion at their smiles. Lindsay just smothered a giggle, winking at Gavin while Ray made a crude gesture with his hands, wiggling his eyebrows at him. They giggled as Gavin blushed and walked off to another part of the temple waving cheerfully.

After a few quiet moments, Gavin asked softly, “D-Did you have a nightmare?”

Michael nodded against his neck, and haltingly explained, “We- I got out of the game and I was in the apartment, you were there, but-...you-...you were just **laying** there and the mask w-was still on you. And-And-And I-I tried to pull it off! I fucking swear that I tried as hard as I could! B-But the mask wouldn’t come off! You- You were stuck in the game without me and I-I-I-”

Gavin gently ran a hand through Michael’s hair, and reassured him, “It’s alright, Michael. I’m in the game right now, but you’re sitting right here next to me, okay? I'm not gonna let you leave without me.”

Michael sat back and, realizing that he had been sitting on Gavin’s lap, quickly scooting off of him, stuttering,“Uh, I-I know, man. The dream just freaked the everliving fuck out of me.” Gavin frowned briefly when Michael moved off of him, but nodded, “Yeah, I’m sorry about that.”

Michael opened his mouth and closed it, before shaking his head and standing up, softly saying, “Thanks for helping me calm my tits down Gav. I’m gonna just get ready for the day and stuff...” He made a hasty retreat after he finished speaking.

Gavin blinked in confusion as Michael awkwardly walked away and slowly stood up, deciding he should probably get ready as well. After Gavin took a brief bath in the fountain, placed his jewelry and crown back on and carefully retied his sarong, Ryan passed though, bowing briefly when he saw Gavin murmuring a “Good morning, my lord,” before continuing into the main temple.

Michael, who was in the process of retying his own sarong, jumped in surprise seeing Ryan's reflection come up behind him and bow deeply to him. The shorter man spun around to face the High Priest, hastily tying the sarong around his waist, “Um, good morning High Priest Haywood. How can I assist you?”

Ryan smiled strangely before saying, “Good morning Lord Michael, I would just like to inform you of the game that will be held this afternoon in your honor.”

Michael raised an eyebrow, suspiciously asking, “… Game?”

Ryan nodded, “Yes, it is a traditional game arranged before large sacrifices. Both of you will be competing in the game, but for gods, it will be quite easy, I’m sure.”

Alarm bells in his head started ringing as Michael nervously tugged at his sarong. “What does this game involve?” he cautiously asked.

Ryan shrugged, “I suppose it could be considered a battle of sorts. No one will die during the game, it’s against the rules as that is meant to be saved for the holy sacrifices.” Ryan spread his hands wide as he explained, “All citizens who believe that they are strong enough to take on a god will be the other participants in the game and they will go up against the god of their choosing. The game will begin when the sun is at its highest and it will end when it sets. I do intend to see the both of you there even if fighting isn't Lord Gavin's forte. Your man-servant and the...girl...may watch the game if they so please though they cannot participate in the game themselves.”

Michael knew if he refused Ryan would probably be angry and that would not help them in the long-run, so he swallowed roughly and nodded, “We will be ready by the time the sun is at it's highest point. Thank you for the information and me and Lord Gavin will, uh, see you there.”

Ryan grinned and bowed deeply, “Of course. You have my thanks. Goodbye, my lord.”

He walked back out of the temple, bowing briefly to Gavin as he left. As soon as Ryan had walked off, Gavin ran into the other room where Michael was standing looking stunned, Ray and Lindsay following the Brit in shortly afterward. The redhead voiced the question running through all their heads, “What the hell just happened?”

Michael shook his head, “Ryan said something about a traditional game before… large sacrifices and that Gav and I are supposed to be a part of it. Nobody is allowed to kill anyone else, but it’s like a fight I guess. You two,” he gestured to the two AIs, “are allowed to watch or whatever but not join in though.”

Gavin’s eyes widened as he squawked, “We have to fight?! This is too bloody realistic and I have no minging idea about real combat! What the bloody hell are we going to do?!”

Michael put his hands on Gavin’s shoulders and ordered him, “Calm down, dude. I’m sure the game will adjust, so we know what the fuck we’re doing. If not, I mean, I got fucking sweet ass powers now, right? Those should help, okay? Don’t get so worked up.”

Gavin frowned, obviously still a bit bothered, but nodded in agreement, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Lindsay clapped her hands excitedly as she cried out, “OH!”

All three men jumped at her outburst and stared at her incredulously, but before anyone could say anything, she explained, “You guys need to get armor on for the battle! Sorry I yelled I just suddenly thought of it.”

Michael blinked, and admitted, “That probably would be a good idea, but aren’t we supposed to be gods? Gods don’t need armor, do they?”

Lindsay shrugged, “It’s more for show than anything. Besides your opponents will be in heavier armor than you two.”

Michael nodded, and sighed, “Alright, do you know where we can get some fast?”

“Yeah, Jack does some blacksmithing on the side with his wife's help when he’s not guarding the city for Geoff.”

“Well, let’s go down there then and order a couple sets then.”

The four walked down to Jack’s small shop and requested the armor and some weapons for the two “gods”. Jack agreed and was obviously flattered by the fact that they came to him rather than anyone else. He and his wife, Caiti, swiftly fitted Michael and Gavin and then altered some armor in their sizes that they had around and supplied them with two swords. The hilt of one blade had a huge ruby, roughly the size of an egg, set into the pommel and the other had a quartet of smaller emeralds set into the hilt. They thanked Jack for his gifts and headed back to the temple.

When they arrived back at the temple, Ray carefully helped Gavin into his armor while Lindsay helped Michael into his. Neither one of the roommates wore a helmet and instead kept their crowns on as Lindsay explained to them the rules of the game for the gods.

The duo sheathed their swords into the sheathes that Jack made for them, nodded solemnly at each other, and then the four of them made their way down to the battle arena...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ray Translations are:  
> Farewell my golden heart!  
> What? I'm not telling you!  
> Shit! That man is crazier than a barrel full of monkeys!


	10. Here Comes The Fucking Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sooo sorry this took so long and i hope to continue normally with this so i can finish it soon b/c it's nearing its end. I hope you all enjoy this!!!! uvu

Lindsay and Ray led Michael and Gavin to the right side of the arena where a wooden double door led to a large room. Miles stood beside the door and bowed when they approached, swinging open the doors to let them inside. The four of them entered the room as Miles closed the door behind them and sitting on the plush red couch was the High Priest, sly grin on his face as always. Behind the couch was a bay window that gave a nice view of the actual battling area, a few feet from there was another wooden door that led to that  area. Inside the room there are several weapons, shields, and pieces of armor neatly organized in piles against the walls.

He stood to bow to them and then spoke, looking at Lindsay and Ray, “Would you like to take your seats in the audience?”

The two AIs knew he really wasn’t asking, so they nodded, quickly said goodbye to Michael and Gavin and exited from the door they came in to go through the audience entrance. Once Ray and Lindsay were completely gone, Ryan gestured to the plush couch, “Please take a seat.”

Michael and Gavin plopped down into the couch and Ryan joined them, gracefully landing on the couch. Ryan put his hands in his lap, “There are a few more things about how the game is going to go and then you will begin the battles. When your opponents placed themselves in the game, they got to decide who they would fight. Lord Michael, you have a few more opponents than Lord Gavin, so you will go first and both of you will alternate every battle.”

The two “gods” nodded in understanding and Ryan continued, “Lord Gavin, while Lord Michael fights, you can sit here and watch from the window and vice versa. Are you ready to begin?”

Michael stood and slung his sword over his shoulder, “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Ryan stood as well, “I will tell your first opponent you are ready and when the horn sounds, you can step out onto the arena. Good luck, my lords,” he bowed and exited through the arena’s entrance, walking across the dirt area to the other room where the gods’ opponents all sat inside.

Michael and Gavin sat in tense silence until the horn blared and Michael made a move to the door, but Gavin grabbed his arm. Michael looked back at his best friend, eyebrows furrowed and Gavin frowned, “Please-please be careful, okay?”

Michael blinked at him and gave him a soft smile, “I will, Gav. You be careful too, okay? We don’t need to get this fucking far and then die from some lame battles.”

Gavin breathed out a laugh and let go of Michael’s arm, “Of course.”

Michael turned from Gavin and walked out of the door, into the arena. His opponent stood on the other side of the arena, he was a little lanky, but he looked like he could fight. He fumbled to get his helmet on over his mop of dark hair and approached Michael without another issue, bowing when he was a few steps away. Michael nodded respectively in return as he was not supposed to show submission in front of his “subjects” by bowing or anything similar to it, that was what Lindsay told him anyway.

Both raised their weapons and the battle began as the dark haired boy slammed his sword into Michael’s shoulder. Michael winced at the pressure, but he didn’t feel much actual pain and his shoulder jerked in retaliation, sending the boy’s sword a foot or two away. Michael quickly took the opportunity to rush forward and knock the boy off his feet and pin him down, sword at his neck.

The boy stared wide eyed at Michael and he smirked, “Don’t fuck with the gods, kid.”

He choked out a “Yeah, please let me go.”

Michael pulled the blade away and stood, reaching out to help the kid up. He shook his head at Michael’s hand, “Don’t help me. I’ve shown disgrace, I’ll-I’ll show myself out.”

The boy shakily stood and walked to grab his sword and Michael wished he had Gavin’s game ability to say such calming things as he walked back to the room he came from. When Michael shut the door, his face twisted in distaste, “Well, that wasn’t very satisfying.” he plopped down next to Gavin, “Your turn, dude.”

Gavin was just staring forward through the window, his face a little flushed so Michael snapped his fingers in front of Gavin’s face, “Gav, dude. Snap out of it.”

Gavin shook his head and blinked at Michael, “Uh,” he wiped a hand over his face, “S-Sorry, my turn?”

Michael’s eyebrows furrowed, but he nodded, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Gavin stood and adjusted his sarong, “Yeah, I-I’m fine, sorry. I-” the horn sounded over his voice, “Gotta go.”

Michael nodded in understanding and Gavin opened the wooden door and made his way over to the center of the arena like Michael had. Gavin’s first opponent was a blonde haired woman who looked like someone Gavin knew from the office. Barbara Dunkelman. The woman standing in front of him had a malicious look on her face that Gavin had never seen on Barbara, but they were nearly identical.

The woman in front of him had leather strapped to her hands and four large black talons over each knuckle and attached to the leather, it seemed to be her only weapon. She bowed quietly then raised her hands near her face in a fighting stance and Gavin nodded in return like he’d been told and unsheathed his sword, gripping its hilt firmly with both hands but not making a single movement. The woman waited a moment before reaching out one hand and swiping it at Gavin’s face. Gavin tried to throw his head back and block it, but he wasn’t quick enough and the talons’ tips dug into the skin of his cheek and dragged across before she pulled back.

Gavin felt the blood trickle down his face and the cuts throbbed dully, but he raised his sword and swung forward, unsure what it’d really do. The sword cut the blonde woman’s arm, a large gash formed in the metal of her armor and blood began to pour out of it. Gavin pulled his sword back and squeaked in surprise, “A-Are you okay? I-”

The woman growled lowly and swung at Gavin again and when Gavin attempted to dodge it, he actually did and swung his sword at her leg. The blade went deep into her skin and he had to pull hard to get it out, stumbling back as she cried out and swung at his chest. It scraped the metal, but didn’t hurt him.

Gavin took a few rough, uneven breaths before he tried to speak to her again, “Please stop, you’re hurt.”

The woman swung out again, “I will not be a disgrace like the boy.”

Gavin shoved the sword into her side and ripped it out, another loud cry sounding from her and he pushed her down. She fell with a thud and he gritted his teeth, “Stop.”

She groaned and spit out, “I-I surrender. Let the angry one come out now, maybe he’ll have a worthy opponent.”

Gavin frowned at her, but didn’t say anything and walked back to the room Michael currently occupied. Michael was staring at him, wide eyed, “Dude, are you okay?”

Gavin wiped at the blood still trailing down his face and nodded, “I’ll be fine. Go ahead, Michael. Good luck.”

Michael stood and let Gavin sit on the couch, who still had a tight grip on his sword, “Gav, you can put the sword down.” Gavin blinked up at him then at his sword, his grip on it was so tight that he was trembling and he loosened it until it clattered to the ground. He put his face in his hands and murmured, “Bollocks.”

Michael sat beside Gavin and put a hand on his back, “That was a little intense, just try to calm down, okay?” The horn blared and Michael stood, “I gotta go now-be careful, Gav.”

Gavin nodded, “You too, boi.”

Michael smiled and left the room, walking out until he was a few feet from his opponent who was a broad shouldered dark haired woman with a navy blue battle axe. She planted the axe into the ground and bowed then ripped out the axe and held it over her shoulder. Michael flinched slightly as she pulled it out, but she didn’t seem to notice so he nodded like he was supposed to and brought his sword up in a defensive position.

Michael made the first swing, it slammed into her armor and right through it, slicing up her abdomen. The woman groaned, but swung her own weapon and it smashed into Michael, almost knocking him over and he stumbled to the side before regaining his balance. There was a large puncture in his armor and a tear in the skin of his shoulder that was slowly seeping blood, he winced but faced the woman again. He swung again and cut across her chest but didn’t get through the armor.

The woman snickered at him, “The Angry God, the Powerful God, here you are, stumbling and not even cutting through a simple piece of metal.”

Michael gnashed his teeth together, raised his sword above his head and slammed it down on her chest; a surge of electricity ran through his arms and shot through the sword as it connected with her chest. Her body shook violently as she fumbled into a kneeling position and the axe landed a few feet from her.

Michael stood over her, breathing heavily and a wild look in his eyes, and raised his sword again. The woman shakily looked up at him, a hand held up in a silent plea to stop, but Michael didn’t seem to notice and murmured, “Don’t disrespect me, child.”

As Michael began to bring the sword down, Gavin swung open the door to the room and screamed, “Michael! Michael, stop! You have to stop!”

He blinked rapidly and dropped the sword, it clattering to the ground and he took a few steps back and began to shake a bit, “O-Oh my God. What’s happening to me?”

The woman still kneeled and began trembling, Michael had to turn away from her. Gavin was rushing toward him and gripped his shoulders, “What the bloody hell was that, Michael? Are you alright?”

Michael shook his head and leaned it against Gavin’s shoulder, “G-Gavin, what is this game doing to me?”

Gavin ran a hand through his auburn hair, “I-I don’t know, Michael. Come on, let’s go inside before they get suspicious.” He grabbed Michael’s sword and put an arm around him to guide him back into the room.

Someone had to help the woman out of the arena so Michael sat in Gavin’s lap and shuddered, his face in the younger man’s chest as they waited for Gavin to go out and fight his next battle. Gavin rubbed his back softly, “It’s going to be alright, Michael. We’ll figure a way out of this horrible mess I got us into.”

Eventually, the horn sounded and Gavin got up carefully, letting Michael rest against the window. These battles went on for awhile and Michael sometimes would become the blood lusting angry god he was portrayed as before Gavin could calm him down again. The sun was beginning to disappear behind the horizon and Michael had his last battle.

Michael had such a tight grip on the handle of his sword the metal dug into his skin and he looked at Gavin like he could somehow stop this. Michael knew it was a game and these people weren’t real and he wasn’t actually going insane, but it felt so _real_. He couldn’t control what his own body was doing and he just wanted to see them chopped up and their blood splattered and _shit, he needed to stop._

Gavin gave him a small smile, “It’ll be okay. I’ve got you, boy.”

Michael shakily nodded, “Thanks, Gav. You’re my boy.”

Gavin repeated it back to him and Michael exited into the arena. He was surprised to find Kerry standing there with a sickle in each hand and leather covered iron armor. When Michael had gotten closer, he noticed the skin that was visible had odd gray bumps in random areas and he asked him, “What are you doing out here, Kerry?”

The leather clad boy bowed and turned the sickle in his hand, “I don’t know, Lord Michael. I feel odd today, but I had the weirdest urge to put you in your place.”

Michael could feel the urge to kill seep through his veins and he grit his teeth in an attempt to calm down. _Kerry is a good kid and a nice character, don’t kill him, you fucking moron. What the fuck was wrong with Kerry anyway? Why is he so bold all the sudden?_

Michael didn’t have more time to think about it, because Kerry shoved one of the sickles into his shoulder and he screamed out in agony. The Jerseyite ripped the sickle out and threw it a few feet from him, gripping his sword and slamming into Kerry’s chest. The blade went through the leather and armor, but then clanked against something hard. Kerry grinned maniacally and pulled the sword out of his armor, looking up into the crowd.

Michael followed his line of sight and saw Ryan walking down the aisles to the main arena with his eyes and tribal markings glowing a bright blue. When he looked back at Kerry, his eyes glowed as well and he stood and stared blankly at him. His body began to pulse and grow double in size, his armor easily slipping off of him and leaving a hard, stone exterior as opposed to his normal, fleshy skin. His whole body went from human to a cow in a matter of seconds and Michael just stood and watched him. _Holy shit, Kerry just became a gigantic stone cow._

 


	11. Game Over

“Gavin Free and Michael Jones.”

Michael didn’t know why but the way Ryan spoke their names made his blood run cold. He stayed silent as the High Priest made his way down the stairs and barely noticed out of the corner of his eye that Gavin was running out of the room toward him.

He heard a thud behind him and then another before Ryan began speaking again.

“You and your companion have been completely dishonest in your divinity.” There was a murmur in the crowd at that. “You are as a human as anyone here in the audience and you must be punished for your deceit. This,” he gestured at the stone creature, “will be your demise. You deceived him the most and he will get his revenge.”

Gavin’s voice sounded from beside him, “He doesn’t even know what’s happening! You’ve tricked him into thinking you knew what was best but you’re just a controlling prick!”

Michael winced at that and with a flick of his wrist, the stone covered Kerry jolted with life and swung at Gavin. The Brit barely missed the huge stone arm and as Michael spun out of the way, he saw Lindsay and Ray behind them. He watched the fright in their faces leave as they stare blankly ahead. Time seemed to stop around the two AIs and Lindsay opened her mouth.

**_“Stone encases an innocent.”_ **

Ray spoke the next line, _**“We must knock down the king.”**_

They alternated back and forth, Lindsay one line, Ray the next.

**_“The beast’s heart beats along with the king’s.”_ **

**_“Rid them of their heart.”_ **

**_“Destroy his reign.”_ **

They spoke the last line in unison. **_“Wreck the heart.”_**

Gavin and Michael stared at them in bewilderment then Michael threw his hands in the air, sword still in hand, and screeched, “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!”

Time sped back up with them and another large limb came flying at them and they both stumbled backwards in an attempt to not get slammed into the ground. Gavin looked around wildly, trying to find something that could be a heart or symbolize a heart, just _anything_.

Michael gripped his forearm and Gavin winced at the pressure as he looked over, "What-?"

"Holy shit, Gav." That's all that he said, all he needed to say because Gavin looked in the direction Michael was looking.  Kerry leaned down to swing again and the intricate carvings and small green and red jewels embedded into his stone chest could easily be seen. "The heart."

The creature took the opportunity to strike while they were distracted and smacked Gavin right off his feet. Michael rushed forward, "Gav shit, are you okay?"

Gavin nodded weakly and gestured with a large motion at the huge stone creature behind them. "Michael forget about me, I'm fine. Get Kerry."

He was hesitant to leave his friend but did as Gavin asked. Ray helped him up as Michael approached Kerry. Somewhere off to his left Ryan's voice combined with a deep, demonic one, "I'd like to watch you try and take my heart, Jones. I would _love_ to see you try."

Michael wasn't one to let mocking words get to him, but rage burned deep inside of him and it made him quick to violence. Kerry leaned down as if taunting him, just _begging_ to be hit. Michael took the bait, much too eagerly. He launched forward and swung the sword at him, the only thing it accomplished was making an ear-splitting noise as it scratched against the hard exterior.

He stumbled forward as Kerry straightened up and laughter began to pour from the audience. Every person in the crowd began to laugh cacophonously and the noise surrounded him, making him tremble with fury.

Ryan's layered voice spoke over the laughter, "Look how weak he truly is! At least he doesn't crumble so easily to the ground as his companion does."

Michael growled at him, "Shut up! Shut the _fuck_ up!"

Their laughter seemed to increase at his outburst and he screamed, bleeding-from-the-ears screaming, until they grew silent. As he let out a few ragged breaths, he noticed Lindsay stood beside him, a small smile on her face. “Let’s wreck that fucking heart.”

Michael jerked his head in a nod and turned to the looming stone creature. Time seemed to slow again as he heard words echo inside of himself. _Knock him down, Player 2._ He whipped his head around to face Lindsay again with wide eyes. “Did you just say something?”

Lindsay furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, “Let’s wr-”

“No, after that… I thought I heard-” _Knock down the creature._ “What the fuck?!”

Lindsay continued to stare at him with confusion. Michael realized the game was trying to help him, he needed to knock Kerry down apparently. “W-We have to knock him down to get to the heart.”

Lindsay nodded in understanding and her face brightened as an idea came to her mind, “We can run at his legs as fast as we can, maybe he’ll fall after a couple times…?”

He grinned at her, “Perfect. Let’s do it.”

They both turned to the creature and time sped back up around them as they simultaneously rushed forward, crashing into the stone limbs. Kerry toppled slightly before he steadied himself, a roar ripping through the air and frightened the AI and player onto their asses.

Ryan spoke again, his words hard to understand over the roars of Kerry, “You believe it will be that easy?”

Michael pulled himself up, ignoring the taunt and focusing on the two figures sprinting up the stairs, right towards the High Priest. Michael jogged backwards, Lindsay beside him, until they were far enough away to charge the creature again.

\---

Ray let out a stuttered breath as he tried to keep up with Gavin’s longer strides. He looked over at the High Priest who fortunately was too caught up in destroying Michael and Lindsay to realize him and Gavin were only a few yards from him now.

Gavin moved as quietly as his body would let him and unsheathed his sword, taking careful footsteps until he was at arm’s length with Ryan. As he drew his hand back, the High Priest spotted him and turned towards him in an almost violent manner. His hands were slightly pixelated and flickered from his lightly toned hands to glowing blue claws and the markings on his skin was heavily pixelated and radiated with more blue light.

Ryan swiped his glitching hand at Gavin and he stumbled back, nearly dropping the blade. The malfunctioning “boss” growled out, “I will not be beaten so easily. Do you think I won’t notice you and the slave- yes, that boy is a slave, he lets the game control him- trying to smash my heart? It won’t happen.”

Ray ground his teeth in aggravation and rage. _A slave? He was letting the game control him? Why would he voluntarily let this happen to him? What the fuck is wrong with this fucking idiot? Fuck. This._

Ray ripped the sword from Gavin’s grasp and slammed it straight through the High Priest’s chest. He drug the blade out of the disfigured chest and sliced his head right off his neck, kicking him to the floor. He landed with a thud and disappeared into a billion pixels. “Fuck you.”

He turned to the arena where the stone creature was lying on the ground and Michael’s sword was plunged into the encrusted “heart”. The creature began to decrease in size rapidly until Kerry’s lifeless human body lay on the arena’s floor, the blade still deep in his chest. Guilt choked Michael as he stared at the boy. It was just a game but he could feel regret bubble up and he hated to see he had caused death to someone.

Lindsay stared up at Ray with wide eyes and he had to turn away from the frightened look on Lindsay’s face, just to be met with Gavin’s surprised expression. He blinked rapidly and opened and closed his mouth several times before speaking, “Um, is that- are you allowed to do that?”

Ray shrugged and handed the sword back to Gavin, “I am now.”

\---

Michael glanced at Lindsay as she stared up into the stands where Gavin and Ray stood. Panic was easily displayed on her face and she wouldn’t look away, _couldn’t_ look away because Ray had ruined this for her. He fucking _knew_ she wanted Michael and Gavin to have the option to visit and he _knew_ that if he jeopardized the game in any way, it would overwhelm the buggy game and it would shatter the world around them.

“...Lindsay?” Michael said cautiously, trying not to upset her more than she obviously already was.

“He ruined it.” She murmured so quiet Michael barely heard it.

“Who? How?”

Lindsay balled her fists and trembled as she turned away from the two in the bleachers, “Ray. He knows- he knows what will happen if he- he altered the game. He didn’t follow the storyline like the AIs are- he _ruined everything_. I-I cared so much about you, Michael. I wanted to spend as much of my life as I could learning about you and your world and the stupid stories you and Gav will have, I just- it’s over, it’s done. We’ll be restarted and I-I-I can’t-” She cut herself off with a stuttered sob.

Michael’s eyebrows furrowed in concern and he took a step towards her, gently placing a hand on her arm, “I-I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. What’s- What’s going to happen?”

Lindsay trembled hard against Michael’s touch and leaned her head on his shoulder as another sob ripped through her. He put an arm around her and waited silently until she explained what would happen. “The game’s gonna crash. The world will collapse and either you and Gav will avoid the debris and go home, restarting the game or you get killed by the collapse and the game stays stuck in this moment forever until someone cuts the power.”

“Oh my god.” Gavin’s voice cut through Michael’s shocked silence.

He looked up from Lindsay’s head to his best friend and Gavin began to tremble as well, muttering something under his breath.

“Gav?” Michael asked quietly.

“It’s my fault. We’re gonna die and it’s my fault. I killed you. I killed you, Michael, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I’m-I’m-”

Michael stepped forwards, one arm still wrapped around Lindsay and grabbed Gavin by the collar of his shirt. He wrapped his other arm around Gavin and pressed their foreheads together softly. “Listen here, asshole. The only one allowed to blame you for shit is me and I’ve told you, I don’t blame you, okay? It’s not your fault, it won’t ever be your fault, alright? You didn’t force the mask onto my face, I voluntarily did that. Even though you wanted me to, I decided for myself to enter the game, okay? It’s not your fucking fault. If I die, you are _not_ responsible for my death.”

Gavin nodded shakily against Michael’s head, “I’m sorry I freaked out.”

The ground began to quake beneath them and they could hear the stands collapse behind them. Lindsay mouthed, “It’s started” into his shoulder and then she pulled away, a sad smile pulled up her lips as sighed out, “Good luck, you guys.”

Gavin turned his head slightly from where it was touching Michael’s and smiled at her, “Thank you for your help.”

Michael frowned and muttered, “I’m so sorry.” He took one last look around, noticing Ray curled on the floor and the Jerseyite barely made out his cries of regret and pain. Michael felt so terrible for these AIs, both of them now would be wiped from existence and placed back down at square one again, completely ridding them of their personalities and lives. He repeated his words again, guilt dripping from them, “I’m so fucking sorry.”

Gavin took Michael’s hand in his and began to sprint away from the catastrophe that was about to occur. He kept his eyes on the sandy brown hair in front of him, refusing to look back and they kept running and running. Colors switched around and bled together and holes with pixelated edges showed up all over the place, the environment tearing itself apart. Random gurgling noises sounded from the holes and Gavin tried to stay as far away from them as possible, keeping Michael close to his side.

They kept running around the debris until an ear-piercing screech and bright red surrounded them, blinding their sight. Several noises sounded over each other, layering into a cacophonous cluster of confusion until the red faded to black and everything became eerily silent.


	12. Epilouge

Michael’s head throbbed with pain, like someone was attempting to crack open his skull with a sledgehammer, and his body felt incredibly weak. He was filled with a sense of grogginess as he forced his eyes open and when he did, a few small red lights were the only thing to illuminate his vision. He also could hear quiet rhythmic beeping and, a bit further away, the sound of hands slapping against wood. He tried to focus his vision on the obvious obstruction blocking his view and saw the wires intertwined around the lights, realizing that this obstruction was the game mask. He reached up with shaky hands to pry it off his face.

He stared into the dim light of their living room, a lamp in the corner and the moon being the only sources of light in the apartment. Yelling accompanied the banging Michael had previously heard but before he could even think of responding to it, he saw Gavin sat next to him. His head tipped back against the couch and the mask firmly attached to his face, he looked exactly like he did in Michael’s nightmare. Terror crept down his spine at that thought.

He crawled over to Gavin, murmuring, “Please, no. I can’t-This can’t happen for real, he can’t- Gav, _please_.” He curled his hand under the mask, feeling his facial hair scrape against his fingers, and pulled as hard as his sluggish strength would allow. The mask complied easily and Michael nearly tumbled off the couch from his own extra force. Once he got his balance back, he threw the mask down so hard, he heard it shatter against the coffee table.

He climbed onto the Brit, gently lifting his head so his neck wasn’t bent at such an awkward angle. His body stayed limp in Michael’s hands and dropped his head softly to jostle his shoulders, trying to wake him up. “Come on. Come on, Gav. You can’t fucking die on me. Not right here, not right now. Gavin, please.”

The banging seemed to be coming from the door but Michael continued to ignore it in favor of trying to awaken Gavin. He took his face in his hands again, moving his head back and forth, “Gavin, get up. Please wake up.”

It took a few more moments for the taller man to blink open his eyes, confusion clouding them as he raised his arms to softly touch the hands enclosed around his jaw.

“...Michael?”

A stuttered sob left Michael’s lips before he could stop it and he grinned through his tears. “Oh, Gav. Fuck this- this shitty game, I-I can’t-” he leaned forward to press a kiss to his cheek and another to his nose and several others all over his face, “I’m so fucking glad you’re okay. We are never playing one of those stupid indie games again, you cannot get yourself in danger again, I love you too much for that shit.”

He stopped and jerked himself back when he felt Gavin tense under him. _Shit. He fucked up. Shit, shit, shit._

“S-Sorry, I shouldn’t have-god, that was dumb. I was just-”

A large hand covered his mouth and the words died on his lips. “Michael, it’s fine. It’s,” he grinned, wide and goofy, “It’s way more than fine, actually. I just-uh, I think someone’s at the door…?”

The pounding had gotten louder and a familiar voice was screeching now, obviously trying to catch their attention. Michael swallowed the forming lump in his throat, trying to calm his erratic heartbeat, “Y-Yeah, we should probably check that.” He climbed off of him and walked over to the door, Gavin at his heels. When he swung open the door, they were met with a red-faced, out-of-breath Dan Gruchy.

Gavin’s eyebrows furrowed at the sight of his co-worker, “Dan…?”

“D-Did you guys play El Dorado?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“ _Shit_. Are you alright?! Jesus, B, I was scared out of my fucking mind! Spencer called me at one in the morning and said that he’d been trying to call you for the past hour and that the goddamn game wasn’t ever supposed to be distributed and it was dangerous as shit and I-”

“Woah, woah, slow down Dan. We’re alright, well physically anyway, and we’re not in the game anymore. Did they say what was wrong with the game?”

Michael mumbled, “Everything?” under his breath as Dan responded.

“Geoff Ramsey,” he took a breath, worn out from screaming for who knows how long and while he did Michael muttered, “Fucking self-insert.”

Then Dan continued, “He’s the main guy from the team making El Dorado and he called us up a few hours after you left. He said they sent out the wrong beta to test and he apologized for the inconvenience but I didn’t think anything of it, you know? Probably some glitches or bugs or something so I head out. Couple hours after that, Spencer called me, all panicky and says we need to get in contact with you and shut down the game immediately. So, I told him I’d go down to your apartment and he starts telling me to not just pull the plug because it could trap you guys in the game and that the game could actually kill you guys and I started to freak out so I’ve been slamming the fucking door and screaming for an hour at least. I just- Christ- I don’t know what I was gonna do if you got yourself hurt.”

“Wow, fucking bloody hell, that’s- that is a lot. I’m sorry to scare you, Dan. Do you know what we’re supposed to do with the game?”

“It-It’s alright, Gav. I have no clue what’s gonna happen to the game. Geoff’s supposed to fly out from Austin, Texas as soon as he can to take the game back and probably talk to you guys about the game and what not.”

Gavin quietly nodded, unsure where they were supposed to go from here. Michael sensed his distress and took his hand, actually addressing Dan for the first time, “What time is it anyway?”

Dan pulled his phone out of his pocket, pressing the lock button and reading off the time, “Around three thirty in the morning.”

“Well then, I think we should just try to get some rest and deal with all this bullshit when I wake up and I’m not inside a video game or terrified Gavin’s dead.” Michael felt Gavin’s fingers tighten around his hand.

Both of the Brits nodded in agreement and Gavin pulled Dan in by his arm, “You can sleep on the couch, alright? Thanks for looking out for us, B.”

Dan slouched over to the couch, his exhaustion sending his body into it easily, and he mumbled a “You’re welcome, B.” before dozing off.

Gavin and Michael walked into Michael’s bedroom, simply because it was closer, and the taller man flopped onto the messily made bed before looking up with a grin, “You love me, huh?”

He groaned, “Gavin…”

Gavin waved his hands around to stop the Jerseyite’s words, “I mean, it would be amazing for you to even want to shag me but you love me, that’s definitely a level-up. Wait, do you want to shag me?”

Michael buried his face in his hands, trying to smother himself so he wouldn’t be forced to endure this torture, “Gavin, don’t fucking start.”

“Awwww, you _do!_ Come ‘ere, Michael.”

He peeked between two of his fingers at Gavin and shook his head, “Nah, I’m just gonna go bury myself ten feet underground. Yeah, that’s a good idea, I’m gonna do that.”

“Michael!” He dragged his name out into a whine and flailed his arms, pushing himself into a sitting position so he could grab Michael by the waist and pull him onto the bed with him. The shorter man let out a (totally manly) squeal when he was lifted off his feet and dropped on top of Gavin.

“Goddamnit, Gavin no stop!” He wriggled against Gavin, trying to remove himself from his space, “Gav, don’t- wha- Gavin!” He pulled Michael over so he laid next to him, causing him to nearly tumble off the small bed. Gavin shuffled himself around so his body faced Michael’s completely.

“I love you too, Michael.”

Michael’s eyes widened in an almost comical manner and he murmured, “Yeah?” honestly still quite anxious about Gavin and everything that revolved around him.

Gavin’s smile was soft as he responded, “Yeah. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’m gonna be able to sleep without you a few feet from me so uh, I’m gonna- I’m- just-” he cut himself off and wrapped his arms around Michael, pulling him close and leaning down to press a soft kiss to his lips. Once they pulled apart, Michael laid his head against Gavin’s chest and mumbled with his mouth half pressed into his shirt, “Is this okay?”

He nodded against his curls, “Of course. Get some sleep, Michael.”

“Night, Gav.”

“Good night, Michael.”

\---

The following day Gavin, Dan and Michael went down to the office with the game to wait for Geoff, who apparently was nearing New Jersey and planned on meeting them there. Dan and Gavin did a little work while they waited but Michael just leant on Gavin’s shoulder from his chair that he had pressed up with the Brit’s. He had refused to leave his side since they woke up, going as far as sitting outside the shower while he cleaned up because he had a terrible feeling that something bad was going to happen to him.

So Michael just watched Gavin edit something until Geoff and two other men showed up and they both nearly jumped out of their skin. Geoff looked exactly like he did in-game, as did Ryan and Jack who were stood to either side of him. Gavin was surprised at their detail in the game, but he could hear Michael’s breathing become shallower like he was about to start hyperventilating. He swiveled his body to face him and panic was written all over his face.

**The office began to bleed out of view and all Michael could see was a blurred, unfocused Gavin and Geoff, Ryan and Jack. He gripped onto Gavin, although he couldn’t see him very well, and tried to stop his heart from pounding out of his chest. He blinked hard and tried to get the office back into his view instead of this void he was in. He could hear Gavin trying to talk to him but couldn’t make out the words, they were just sounds that he couldn’t decipher. He didn’t know what was happening to him, but he knew he was scared as all hell.**

**When Michael forced his eyes open again, he nearly screamed at the sight of the game’s temple around him. “No, no, no, please no. I can’t- this can’t be-” his speech was cut off as his choked on seemingly nothing. He could feel himself being shaken but his eyes had screwed themselves closed. “No, leave- leave me alone, I-”**

_“Michael! Michael, what’s wrong? Open your eyes, look at me please!”_

Michael pulled his eyes open and stared at Gavin, who was no longer blurry. They were on the floor now and he had curled himself around Gavin, trembling hard against him. “Shit. Fucking Christ, what was that?! Did I just have a panic attack or something?”

Gavin shook his head, “I don’t- I don’t know, Michael. I’m sorry, I- I’m sorry, love. Are you alright?”

Michael dropped his head onto Gavin’s shoulder, “I don’t know.”

The taller man twisted himself to look at Geoff with a frown, “Um, did you want to talk to us or just get the game?”

“We would like to talk to you. Is he going to be able to even look at us?”

“Maybe. There’s a conference room down the hall. If you could wait there, I’m gonna try to figure this out.”

Geoff and the two others wander off down the hall and Gavin turns back to Michael, “Is going in there to talk to them going to be too much?”

“No, I think I can do it. I just- I think I freaked out seeing them outside the game, I-I get it now though. They just based the characters off themselves, right?”

“Yeah, yeah that’s all it is. You okay to go in there now?”

Michael stumbled up and off of Gavin, waiting for him to stand as well so Gavin took it as a yes. He pushed himself up and took his hand to lead him to the conference room. Michael stood behind Gavin as they walked in and stared at the fabric of his shirt to avoid meeting any of the other’s eyes.

Geoff was the first to speak. “So you two played El Dorado?”

Gavin nodded silently so Geoff continued, “I’m assuming it wasn’t a great experience?”

“There were… a lot of glitches. Also, no one told us the game could kill us. That, um, would’ve been helpful.”

“We didn’t know it would do that. There was supposed to be hunger and sleep and stuff but it was supposed to be virtual not reality. It wasn’t supposed to trap you either. I-I didn’t mean for any of this to happen to you guys- to _anyone_ , the game isn’t done and shouldn’t have been even near the mail-out area. I’m so sorry, we never wanted to traumatize you and have your lives threatened like that. We actually,” he laughed but it sounded broken and cruel, “we planned to talk to you guys about joining us. We saw your videos on YouTube and Gavin’s editing work, but now- now you can’t even look at us without freaking the fuck out. We probably gave you PTSD or some shit and-”

Jack touched his shoulder gently, “Geoff, it’s alright.”

Geoff whipped his head around to face him, words exploding off his lips, “But it’s not! We fucked this up, Jack! Look at him, he can’t even look at us!”

Jack gripped his shoulders and forced him to look away from the two younger men at the other side of the room and at him, “You didn’t know what it was going to do, okay? We can help them. If they’ll take it, we can still offer them the job and get them out of their probably crappy apartment they live in and into somewhere nice in Austin. We can pay for anything they need, medical shit from the trauma they probably have and rent or whatever, okay? There’s no need to feel guilty, we can help them.”

“That sounds like an okay deal.” Michael’s voice ended the short silence that Jack’s words left and everyone else turned to look at him. “Well, I mean it sounds good, right?” He glanced at Gavin, “I mean Austin’s pretty fucking sweet, right? I’m sure we can sort ourselves out there, do you want to, Gav?”

“Sure! I mean, if they’re offering.”

Jack smiled at them, “It is the very least we can do. We’re really incredibly sorry for this.”

Gavin nodded, “We understand that you didn’t know about the game.” He tugged on Michael’s hand to lead him out of the room to inform Dan.

\---

Michael and Gavin moved out of their apartment into a small house in Austin and became official employees at Geoff’s company, Achievement Hunter Games, where they became part of the game review section and made a bunch of videos to endorse the company on YouTube and other sites.

It was awhile before Michael could have a normal conversation with anyone at the company other than Gavin, because they used _everyone_ from the company in the gameplay and he would have violent reactions sometimes from just their face or voice. Other times Gavin would feel terrible guilt, because he still felt that the whole mess was his fault and he was responsible for threatening Michael’s life. It took quite a bit of persuading for Michael to convince him he wasn’t at fault and never would be.

In the end, despite the problems the game caused, Michael and Gavin lived happily in Austin and sometimes things seemed so great that Michael complained how cliche they had become, living in a little suburban house with plans of getting married. Gavin just laughed at him, “Is this your way of proposing?”

Michael just mumbled something about ruining surprises and threw the velvet box at his head.

**Author's Note:**

> Just wanted to point out that you can also find this story on my Tumblr (gavinthegayloser.tumblr.com) in case you wanna reblog it there too! ;)


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